Thanks Juan for this all too rare insight into the status of other language
wikiversities. ABD puts up a defence for English Wikiversity which I'd
support.

I thought you'd be interested in noticing a small corner on English
Wikiversity where original research is taking place. There is my own, where
I'm enjoying using the wiki to support and document a process of data
collection to drafting, then peer review and then redrafting. I draw
inspiration from wikinews for this.

There is also the use of English Wikiversity by the university of Canberra,
where I'm based, and UCNISS, a teaching and research institute based at the
university Canberra. Their work is focused on sport and physical activity. I
am employed by them to build their presence across social media like
wikiversity.

Unfortunately, I have encountered a few wikimedia foundation people who see
this sort of activity as little more than "hosting", revealing a disturbing
frame of view toward wikiversity purpose, along the lines of what ABD points
out. I can only hope enough time will be given for these and other examples
WITHIN English Wikiversity to mature and show something.
On Jul 21, 2011 3:16 AM, "Abd ulRahman Lomax" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks, Juan, interesting. En.wv largely represents a view that education
is
> about people and what people do, not just about content. Education as pure

> content is academically discredited in the world of education, there has
come to
> be much more concern about process, learning as process, a process that
> continues, life-long, if people learn how to learn, which includes
exploration
> and investigation, not merely imbibing what has been predigested by
someone
> else.
>
> On En.wv, the forces toward reduction of education to content, which,
then, of
> course, must be "correct" and "approved," are active, but do not dominate.
>
> Wikiversity, at least en with which I'm familiar, is the only WMF wiki
where
> discussion of topics is actually encouraged. You can be blocked on
Wikipedia for
> trying to discuss an article topic on the Talk page there, and sometimes
even
> for trying to discuss in user space.
>
> One of the oddities I've seen is that, on Talk:Cold fusion it is actually
> recommended that if you want to discuss the topic, you use a mailing list
that
> focuses on fringe and weird science, the vortex list, but attempts to link
to
> the Wikiversity resource, where discussion can actually help develop
learning
> resources, have been interdicted, on the argument that Wikiversity is
> "self-published."
>
> Definnitely, there is work to do letting Wikipedians know about
Wikiversity. It
> would be ideal to suggest to Wikipedians that if they want to talk about
and
> learn about the topic intereactively, that Wikiversity is open for this,
instead
> of what usually happens: they are told to go away.
>
> In real universities, around the world, and for centuries, what might be
called
> "fringe" views are studied, developed, researched, and taught, as such.
> Individual professors express their opinions and do original research, and

> students do the same, in course work and for degree dissertations and
papers.
>
> I can easily see a grading system as being possible, and overall
neutrality
> policy suggests that poor work should not be prominent, but it takes a lot
of
> work to design and implement some overall system. En.wikiversity is still
in
> very primitive condition.
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