Great, very well compiled news. Thanks for sharing.
rgrds Subha On 11 June 2011 07:57, CherianTinu Abraham <tinucher...@gmail.com> wrote: > > National newspaper "The Hindu" carried an interview with Hisham Mundol and > Frank Schulenburg on Campus Ambassadors Programme* *today. The interview > was of 1/4 newspaper size and was a easily noticeable one. Appears on Page 9 > in Bangalore edition. > > > *The Hindu : "Wikipedia to be promoted in educational institutions"* > http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2095004.ece > http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/11/stories/2011061158740700.htm > > *Students to be motivated to write articles for the website* > * > * > *New initiative:Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the > Wikimedia Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National > Programmes of the Wikimedia Foundation, are training 22 Campus Ambassadors > to popularise Wikipedia among students in Pune.* > * > * > *Last week, Pune etched its place in Wikimedia history by becoming the > first city in India, and the first outside the United States, to host the > Campus Ambassadors' Programme, launched by the Wikimedia Foundation.* > * > * > *The 22 Campus Ambassadors, who were chosen by the foundation, will be > working towards promoting Wikipedia as a tool in education in institutions > in Pune. Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the Wikimedia > Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National Programmes of > the Wikimedia Foundation, who are now in Pune to train the ambassadors, > spoke toThe Hinduon a variety of topics such as why Wikipedia is looking at > India for its offshore expansion, plagiarism and the skewed sex ratio when > it comes to contributors to Wikipedia.* > * > * > *Excerpts:* > * > * > *Why was India chosen for the programme?* > * > * > *Mr. Schulenburg:We sensed the biggest global opportunity in India. A lot > needs to be written about India, and we need a lot more writers from here. > India tops our priority list, and this was one way to increase our reach in > the global south.* > * > * > *How did you zero in on Pune for the pilot?* > * > * > *Mr. Mundol:Pune has a strong heritage in education and a huge student > body. So when we thought of piloting the program in India. Wikimedia > Foundation's aim has also been to increase the number of Indian language > pages. Pune, having a diverse population mix, can be of great use in that > aspect as well.* > * > * > *How will the education programme work?* > * > * > *Mr. Schulenburg:We chose Campus Ambassadors who promote the use of > Wikipedia in education on a day-to-day basis. 824 students participated in > the program creating 5,605 pages on Wikipedia on a variety of subjects. > While the programme was restricted to the topic of ‘Public Policy' in the > U.S., in India it has opened its doors to include all the possible subjects. > * > * > * > *The aim is to encourage educational institutions and professors to > encourage students to write Wikipedia articles as course assignments. This, > we believe, will enhance critical thinking abilities in students, and add to > the knowledge pool that is Wikipedia. In the U.S., we have got the feedback > that using Wikipedia has increased the level of motivation, and hence the > quality of work among students.* > * > * > *Will this in any way put an end to plagiarism which is one of the main > concerns in academic circles when it comes to using Wikipedia?* > * > * > *Mr. Mundol:Definitely. Imagine this. If a student has to create a > Wikipedia page, he cannot copy from anywhere. He has to reference it to the > source. So he has to research more, think of adding more aspects to the > Wikipedia to enrich it. Once the assignment is done and its up on Wikipedia, > the student can share it on the worldwide platform and keep working on it. > He has the ownership, while knowing that millions of readers are adding > value to it.* > * > * > *What is the goal for the programme apart from increasing the number of > contributors to Wikipedia?* > * > * > *Mr. Mundol:We hope that someday the number of articles that a student or > an institute has contributed will be regarded as a measure for academic > excellence. Digital media literacy is a core skill for students in the 21st > century, and the contribution to Wikipedia can be a proof of it.* > * > * > *Is the skewed sex ratio among Wikipedia contributors an issue?* > * > * > *Mr. Schulenburg: It definitely is! Our research tells us that an average > Wikipedia contributor is 25-year-old male. We are definitely looking to > change this. This is where the Education Programme comes in. In the U.S., 46 > per cent of the campus ambassadors were female. Among the students who used > Wikipedia in education last year across universities, we had a 50:50 ratio. > We are looking for the same kind of figures in India.* > * > * > *What else is in store for India?* > * > * > *Mr. Mundol:We are looking launching an India office of the Wikimedia > Foundation in the national capital region this year. This will again be the > first one outside of U.S. In India, we will be launching new initiatives. We > will be targeting the millions of mobile phone-users in this country to > promote the use of Wikipedia.* > > > Regards > Tinu Cherian > http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news#June_2011 > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list > Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l > > -- * ସୁଭପାSubhashishPanigrahi ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Odia (Oriya) mailing list wikipedia...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikipedia-or facebook.com/OdiaWiki Tweet @OdiaWiki *
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