User:VegettaDaGoat/report

This was my first experience using Wiki, and it took me some time to fully familiarize myself with the demands and needs of Wikipedia contributors. To start off I believe the general notion of Wikipedia being an unreliable source is false. With my experience within Wikipedia I have gained a new found sense of gratitude to the unnamed actors/contributors who continue to pursue the original purpose and mission of Wikipedia. Reflecting upon this project I think the inter-working's of Wikipedia are very complex, it is very difficult to simplify this complex system into a learning format. The addition of not only an instructor but a teacher assistant to assist with questions and concerns regarding Wiki was pivotal in the completion and understanding of the curriculum. Without these aids I do not believe the resources and tools offered by Wiki are adequate enough to achieve full comprehension of Wiki material on their own.

Although the resources present do their job but may come of as overwhelming, for the most part the human element is what truly helped me build confidence and understanding with the project. I found myself continually searching for certain trainings, tools, or workshops to help m better understand certain steps on wiki only to be reverted to our class canvas where our instructor had screen recordings of tutorial videos to assist students. I found I learned the most from those videos watching the instructor conduct process's with explanations and feedback, compared to stale tutorial videos. Having access to a very diligent and supportive TA also played a large role in the success of my project as some steps I couldn't get past without her aid.

With all this said I would like to connect my experience in Wiki with the course concept of principles for dealing with newcomers specifically the first two. It is interesting to see how wiki advertises for new membership, which had me wondering why I never have seen an ad to join the Wiki community. I believe if Wiki advertised their community through a platform like Wikiedu they would receive more newcomers and most importantly more individuals who they would want as contributors. If Wiki advertised Wikiedu as the platform for beginning users offering an educational service which Wikiedu already has, with the addition of more live members individuals who are veteran Wiki authors to guide and assist newcomers I believe this platform would achieve a much greater success and retention rate. this may all be theoretical but if Wikiedu could transform into an independent online course which could be offered through universities as a quarter long 5 credit course It would be more appealing to students. Wikiedu gave me more experience writing in a professional setting, for journalism majors especially, Wiki would be a great platform to practice these formal writing skills.

Wikiedu could be easily marketed to students and would allow Wikiedu to achieve a larger platform by focusing on college students. I believe the demographic of students would be favorable for Wiki as they are a population already seeking education and will most likely carry on the skills tey learned in the class to continue to participate in the Wiki community.