Submissions/The role of Wikipedia student organizations on campus

From Wikimania 2014 • London, United Kingdom

After careful consideration, the Programme Committee has decided not to accept the below submission at this time. Thank you to the author(s) for participating in the Wikimania 2014 programme submission, we hope to still see you at Wikimania this August.

Submission no. 3033
Title of the submission
The role of Wikipedia student organizations on campus
Type of submission
Presentation
Author of the submission
Arbitrarily0
E-mail address
undoubtedly0@gmail.com
Username
Arbitrarily0
Country of origin
United States
Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)
Michigan Wikipedians
Personal homepage or blog
en:User:Arbitrarily0
Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)

Michigan Wikipedians was the first Wikipedia student group in the United States. Founded in 2010 at the University of Michigan, the organization’s history has been pervaded by a variety of challenges, adaptations, and small victories. Initially, with a burgeoning membership, club meetings were a friendly setting for wikiraces and lively discussions on the meaning of Wikipedia policies. Today, with a small group of active members, the club conducts outreach seminars, and focuses on supporting and promoting Wikimedia projects throughout the university.

With Michigan Wikipedians as a case study, this presentation investigates the various roles Wikipedia organizations, and more generally, Wikimedia organizations, can serve on college campuses. These roles include hosting introductory editing workshops, collaborating with university libraries and open education groups, supporting faculty in integrating Wikipedia-editing into coursework, and promoting local edit-a-thons. The efficacy of these initiatives, along with their respective challenges, will be discussed, with the hope of offering experience to fledgling student organizations.

A perennial challenge to the Michigan Wikipedians has been keeping an active member base. Wikipedia student organizations tend to be of a very different nature than typical university clubs. Although technical and service-based, Wikipedia groups do not offer the resume-building perks associated with academic societies or service/activism groups. Furthermore, it is the experience of the Michigan Wikipedians that students without editing experience prior to matriculation are much less likely to take interest in the group. This presentation will discuss tactics for encouraging editing among students, faculty and other university affiliates, as well as nurturing a real-world community of editors.

The presentation will last approximately 20 minutes. For the remainder of the session, it is hoped that a forum will be opened for discussing the present and future of Wikipedia student organizations. Members of other Wikipedia student organizations will have an opportunity to share their experiences, and questions from those interested in founding new organizations will be welcomed.

Track
Education Outreach
Length of session (if other than 30 minutes, specify how long)
30 Minutes
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
Yes, if I can find funding for travel.
Slides or further information (optional)
Special requests

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  1. Thelmadatter (talk) 17:09, 11 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
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  6. --Frank Schulenburg (talk) 19:19, 19 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  7. --Stefan »Στέφανος« ‽ 14:23, 30 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  8. LiAnna (Wiki Ed) (talk) 22:01, 1 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
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