Dipartimento:Wikiversità/Bandi/WMF/IdeaLab Inspire/Knowledge networks

Project idea

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

Involvement in Wikimedia projects is woefully limited among the youngest, especially in school. In Italy in the Ministry of Education is issuing 10 notices aimed chiefly at introducing new educational methods, focused mainly on IT skills, into primary and secondary schools.

What is your solution?

Joining efforts with the community of Vikidia, which has a great experience with users aged 8-13, and many contacts with primary and secondary schools.

Goals

• Enhancing the it.Vikidia-it.Wikiversity partnership by close cooperation between both communities.

• Bringing both communities up to strength by training new contributors from primary and secondary schools.

• Building a network with schools across the Italian-speeking area.

• Fostering the involvement of students and teachers in Wikimedia projects, particularly it.Wikiveristy, and Vikidia.

Get Involved

I have been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2006 and I have some experience in educational programs; we developed this idea together with Mizardellorsa, who is active within educational and cultural institutions, Martinligabue, and Samuele2002, who are both students and administrators on it.Wikiversity, with the active support of the Italian Vikidia community. --pegasovagante (la mi dica) 20:24, 28 feb 2017 (CET)

Participants

• Advisor and Volunteer Mizardellorsa: I have organized a digital school library of Wikisource texts (in .epub format, accessible to dyslexic and visually impaired students as well) in a Milan secondary school. I am in contact with the Bolzano school inspectorate for introducing Wikimedia projects in the Ladin-speaking areas.
• Volunteer Martinligabue: Hey, I'm I study at a scientific secondary school and I like to help MediaWiki projects.
• Volunteer Samuele2002: Reding Wikipedia since early childood, editing from the age of 10, under the present username since 2015. I subsequently discovered the sister projects and I was charmed by Wikiversity: I consider it to be the most promising but least valued, since it could be extensively used in schools because of its adaptability. I am interested in other minor projects as well and I dream of all sister projets being equally known to the public. I'm currently contributing as a SWMT Member, an Admin on it.Wikiversity and test2.Wikipedia, a Translation Admin on Meta-Wiki, Wikispecies, Wikidata, and test.Wikipedia.
• Volunteer Ferdi2005: From the age of 6 I have been reading Wikipedia, I started editing at 8, at 10 I discovered the sister projects. I am now administrator of Wikinews. At school we never talked about Wikimedia. I am volunteering for sister projects to become more and more widespread especially among students of Italian Schools.
• Volunteer Pegasovagante: I have been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2006 and I have some experience in educational programs. I strongly believe in the development of minor wiki communities, as I am experiecing it on it.Wikiversity, and in «interproject networking» (as I call it) combined with extensive outreach activities.

Project plan

Activities

• Meetings in schools, introducing teachers to Wikimedia projects, e.g. Wikiversity, and Vikidia, and providing basic editing skills.
• Training for teachers to enable schools to take part in joined programs.
• Within schools, involving some classes and starting programs aimed at editing pages, such as Wikiversity lessons and Vikidia articles.

Budget

USD 14,500

• refund of travel expenses (visiting schools for outreach activities)
• leaflets and printed media for promotional purposes
• other promotional activities (DVDs, telephone costs...)

Category	Item description	Currency	Required budget	Comment
Travel	Travel cost	USD	3,200	Travel, catering and accomodation for volunteers: visiting schools and meeting teachers to establish links and for information and basic training: April-June 2017.
Travel	Travel cost	USD	7,200	Travel, catering and accomodation for volunteers: visiting schools and meeting teachers to establish links and for information and basic training; basic training for students as required by schools: September 2017 - April 2018
Communication	Printed media and gadgets	USD	2,300	Leaflets, folders etc. for promotional purposes. DVD covers, stickers etc.
Communication	Telephone cost	USD	200	For contacting schools and teachers
Communication	DVD	USD	1,000	DVD including all Wikimedia projects in Italian (except Wikipedia)
Communication	Postage cost	USD	600	Mailing DVDs and promotional material to volunteers and to schools
	General total	USD	14,500

Budget Summary

1	Travel	USD 10,400
2	Communication	USD 4,100
	Total	USD 14,500

Community engagement

Interest in it.Wikiversity somewhat increased after Wikimania 2016, opening the way for the it.Wikiversity-it.Vikidia partnership. During 2016, Mizardellorsa has been able to meet several teachers in parts of Northern Italy, leading to a significant increase in active users, including students from selected classes. A lecture about Wikiversity has been given by Martinligabue and Pegasovagante in Florence during the local Wikipedia15 event to an audience comprising librarians and school teachers.

Sustainability

We expect the involvement of considerable numbers of very young contributors to lead to an overall growth of it.Wikiversity, and possibly other Italian minor Wikimedia projects, over the coming years. In our opinion, partnership with it.Vikidia and engagement of teachers are key factors in building a long-lasting network, hopefully leading to a steady increase of participation, and consequently to a significant developement of the involved projects and communities.

Measures of success

Number of schools getting involved in the program; particularly with regard to special educational needs, such as hardware and support for visually impaired people.

Number of pupils and teachers contributing to Wikimedia projects as a result of outreach activities

Project team

Mizardellorsa's idea ha been further developed by Martinligabue, Samuele2002, and Pegasovagante with the support of the most active users of the it.Wikiversity community. The meetings already arranged by Mattruffoni, ProfValeria, and Maupao70 in some schools and the edits by some of their students are encouraging examples of the results to be achieved by a more widespread and organized program.

Community notification

• Knowledge networks grant proposal
• Partnership with it.Vikidia