New MediaWiki extension provides transparency for Wikipedia Education Program
A new MediaWiki extension released today on the English Wikipedia will streamline course pages for professors, students, and Ambassadors participating in the Wikipedia Education Program.
Course pages are key sources of information about students editing Wikipedia articles for class, including who is teaching, mentoring, and signed up for the course, as well as what articles each student is working on. Previously, professors, students, and Wikipedia Ambassadors compiled this information by hand, and course pages were often missing key information. With the new MediaWiki extension, simply known as “Education Program“, a database-style functionality will control the entire course page setup and editing, leading to greater transparency about the program and its participants.
The Education Program MediaWiki extension:
- Helps identify which users are participating the Wikipedia Education Program
- Keeps the course listings up-to-date, automatically archiving finished classes
- Streamlines campus and online ambassador profiles
- Makes it easier for students to list themselves and their articles on their course page
- Shows instructors what students have been editing
- Enables easier searching for a course by university or term
- Adds several new user access levels with permissions related to the extension
- Adds specialized “Course” and “Institution” namespaces
The code is the handiwork of developer Jeroen De Dauw. Several volunteers from the community kindly helped test the extension, which will be in use on the English Wikipedia beginning in the fall 2012 term. The extension can be added to other language Wikipedias once it has been translated into those languages.
Rob Schnautz, Wikipedia Education Program Online Communications Contractor
I have the impression that these improvements could be utiliadas on Wikiversity to provide an integrated environment for editing, not only in wikipedia as other wikimedia projects. But the way I see everything that is new is going to Wikipedia. Where could be more promising in other projects as a means of integration.
You know that there are other projects that do not have any really significant improvement (who was not relacinada to wikipedia) for years?
I have the impression that these improvements could be used on Wikiversity to provide an integrated environment for editing, not only in wikipedia as other wikimedia projects. But the way I see everything that is new is going to Wikipedia. Where could be more promising in other projects as a means of integration.
You know that there are other projects that do not have any really significant improvement (who was not related to wikipedia) for years?
Since the start, students have uploaded photos and illustrations to the Commons in order to enrich their Wikipedia articles. Also, for the past year, one class has devoted time to creating and uploading videos to the Commons (one of these – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calatrava_Movie.ogg – was featured as Commons Media of the Day!).
Before we take on the endeavor of new projects, we want to make sure the plans are solid. We’d love to hear your ideas on how we can integrate with the sister projects, so please let us know if you have ideas.
Thanks for replying
I do not mean for you to change drastically the plans, but I would seriously think that you also in other projects (especially those related to education, as Wikiversity, Wikisource and wikibooks).
I have some ideas, and put them in my sub-pages in Portuguese. But that’s not what I’m talking about, I speak of the shift in thinking.
Look at the project name “Wikipedia Education Program” because it does not create a “Wikibooks Education Program”, “Wikiversity Education Program” or more broadly “Wiki Education Program”?
I’m not saying it’s bad to focus on wikipedia, it is wonderful, I love it. And I want to be the best encyclopedia of all time.
But things like wiikibooks and Wikiversity, Wikinews, Wikisource etc. Can be a great opportunity to address other segments. But that will not happen unless remember that we exist. I am not speaking only of the software because I know it can be used in other projects.
We can not speak that improved the Wikimedia Commons, because I know we only did it because it is directly related to Wikipedia.
I know you all are busy and are doing a great job, but I would urge that the next time they planned functionalities. Remember the other projects. Remember that we also need more editors and we can shine if you give us a chance.
The question is “How to involve the other Wikimedia projects in the plan to make Wikipedia editors also editors of other projects?”
when I write this, I not want to complain or demand anything. I’m trying to help. You understand what I mean?