Point well taken. Of course, you realise that I am a well wisher of the Programs and its participants. Sorry to inadvertantly hurt your feelings. "Challenge" or "setback" would have been more appropriate.
Warm regards, Ashwin Baindur ------------------------------------------------------ On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 12:17 PM, Ram Shankar Yadav < ramshankarya...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Ashwin! > > Please don't use the word "fiasco", yes we had seen some setbacks but it's > not a complete failure. > It's really demotivating for the people who were a part of IEP (me > included). > > Thanks, > Ram > > On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 11:11 PM, Ashwin Baindur <ashwin.bain...@gmail.com > > wrote: > >> Often, it helps to have an outsider perspective. We in the Pune community >> met Torey to day and are of the opinion that the Foundation wants someone >> from their side to provide an impartial outsider's view and also to explore >> ways ahead in addition to finding out whats going on and what had happened. >> >> Obviously, her assignment is just one of a number of initiatives that are >> underway to improve/get feedback regarding the IEP fiasco. >> >> >> Warm regards, >> >> Ashwin Baindur >> ------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 10:57 PM, Anirudh Bhati <anirudh...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> >>> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 2:40 PM, Barry Newstead <bnewst...@wikimedia.org >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, >>>> >>>> Thanks for the engagement on the questions that should be tacked in >>>> this evaluation. See inline for a brief response to Theo's question about >>>> Tory Read. >>>> >>>> Best, >>>> Barry >>>> >>>> On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Theo10011 <de10...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> I really didn't read the entire thread to have a lot of comments, I >>>>> just have one point I noticed that I wanted to ask - Why is Tory Read >>>>> conducting the "evaluative study"? >>>>> >>>>> As I recall, her only exposure to India and Wikipedia before this was >>>>> the research project. And even that had nothing to do with the Education >>>>> program directly. Is there a reason why she's leading the study? >>>>> >>>>> It seems like the same pattern of avoiding knowledgeable >>>>> and experienced members of the community to focus on the "outside >>>>> perspective". I thought the only lesson that the team did take away was, >>>>> you can't do in India what the global education team and Frank did in the >>>>> US. They don't scale and you need local solutions. >>>>> >>>>> I'm pretty sure Ms. Read is a competent researcher and would do a good >>>>> job but I don't see how Ms. Read's expertise or exposure to India and the >>>>> Education program would make this process any different from the pattern >>>>> that brought IEP here. Talking to the staff in SF, or spending a day in >>>>> Delhi or Pune is not going to give a clear picture at all. >>>>> >>>> >>>> Tory is indeed a competent researcher who built a solid understanding >>>> of the community and how things work in Wikimedia during her engagement >>>> with us in the India Chronicles. I selected her for this assignment >>>> because she has a good working knowledge of our general situation from her >>>> work on the India Chronicles, she has the skills to interview a good >>>> cross-section of those involved (WP editors, students, profs, Campus >>>> Ambassadors, online ambassadors, staff, others), she can look at the issue >>>> with fresh eyes and help synthesize learning and recommendations for >>>> changes, she will get this done in a timely fashion while memories are >>>> still fresh (which is really important). >>>> >>>> She is doing a combination of Skype, email and in-person >>>> interviews...and is in Pune this week actually. I'm confident that her work >>>> will be valuable to all of us and it will be shared in its entirety with >>>> the community. It won't be the only work on this. Both the India team and >>>> the Global Education Program team are committed to doing more joint >>>> problem-solving on future changes to the program with those interested in >>>> engaging with us. >>>> >>>> >>> Hi Barry, >>> >>> My understanding is that conducting an evaluative study requires a deep >>> comprehension of our projects and the volunteers. At the same time, an >>> exercise like this demands objectivity while analyzing empirical evidence. >>> >>> By building a repertoire of anecdotal evidence through a series of >>> interviews mostly conducted over phone/VoIP, I do not see how this report >>> will inform us beyond what discussions on this mailing list already have. >>> >>> Tory Read is an accomplished story-teller, but she is not a Wikipedian. >>> Can we simply not have WMF staff in New Delhi handle the interviews and >>> requests for comment? (They should also seek help from some of the >>> established Wikipedia editors.) >>> >>> The reason why I am stressing on this is because I think that an >>> established Wikipedia editor would be better-placed to objectively analyze >>> what worked and what did not work, and how this program may be improved. >>> Such editors need not be Indian, they can be a group of Wikipedians who >>> were directly or peripherally involved on Wikipedia when the IEP program >>> was being executed. >>> >>> Best, >>> anirudh >>> >>> >>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list >>>> Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org >>>> To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list >>> Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org >>> To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list >> Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list > Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l > >
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