Wikipedia:Education Program/Structure proposals/Shamira Gelbman proposal


 * Please list your name and/or Wikipedia username.

Shamira Gelbman, Sgelbman


 * What idea(s) do you have for what the new structure for the U.S. and Canada Wikipedia Education Programs could look like?

I would propose a consortium structure. Consortium members would be academic units -- perhaps whole colleges/universities, but preferably smaller administrative units like libraries, writing centers, centers for teaching and learning, etc. (as suggested in Rebecca Burdette's proposal) -- that agree to certain program-wide requirements about things like resource commitment and personnel training, but also maintain sufficient autonomy to administer the program in a way that best suits their local culture. Instructors who wish to have their classes participate in the program would work closely with a consortium unit on their own campus or one nearby to arrange for their own orientation to Wikipedia, assistance with project design, training and support for students, and learning outcomes assessment. While most of the work would be done at the local level, periodic all-in events (e.g., quarterly conference calls or virtual meetings for consortium members' point-persons, an annual conference) would facilitate some degree of program-wide coordination and esprit de corps.


 * How would you ensure this new structure involves all key stakeholders, including academics and the Wikipedia community?

While consortium members would be academic units, membership requirements could entail collaboration and communication between member academic units and Wikipedia community members, perhaps through an arrangement similar to the current online and campus ambassador programs. On that note, while the ambassador program currently (at least as far as I've seen) aims at easing professors' and students' assimilation into Wikipedia, perhaps a future version might also reach out in the other direction to help provide members of the Wikipedia community who are not directly involved in the education program with a better understanding of where faculty and students are coming from.


 * What are potential pitfalls of this approach?

Loss of efficiency is often a cost of decentralization, but this might be minimized if clear guidelines are set out in advance for coordinated decisionmaking among consortium members. There would also need to be some clearly specified incentives for academic units to join the consortium.


 * Any other comments about your proposal?

Like others who've posted proposals before me (e.g., Mike Christie and Jbmurray), I'm a bit wary of getting too vested in a structure before some consensus is arrived at about the program's future goals and needs. I also agree with many of Rebecca Burdett's responses to this question.