Wikipedia:Wikipedia Connection/Annual Reports/2016-17

Annual Report for 2016-2017

Introduction • Officers • Acknowledgments • List of Events • Event Summaries

Wikipedia Connection is a student organization at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. If you are new to the organization, you may learn more on the Wikipedia Connection homepage.

 Introduction

Preface
Welcome to Wikipedia Connection’s second annual report! This report has been assembled to highlight Wikipedia Connection’s accomplishments for the 2016-17 school year, and to acknowledge everyone who helped make these accomplishments a reality. Included in this report is an overview of the year's activities, along with more detailed summaries and statistics of each.
 * By Kevin Payravi (SuperHamster)

More than two years ago, in Spring 2015, I founded Wikipedia Connection alongside several of my friends. In May of 2017, I graduated, thus ending my chapter (at least, in a formal capacity) with Wikipedia Connection. It's been a spectacular journey - learning, experimenting, and sharing the Wikimedia movement with the Ohio State community has been challenging, yet incredibly fun and rewarding. The organization has grown and has accomplished things I never imagined it could. Dozens of students have learned how Wikipedia works; students and faculty alike have learned how to contribute; event attendees have created dozens and improved hundreds of articles; we have outreached and worked with a variety of departments and faculty for our events; and we have a regularly attending group of fantastic self-selecting students (and friends!) that make everything the club does possible.

In the 2016-2017 school year, a lot has been accomplished. I'm thrilled to have seen Wikipedia Connection continue to be a successful student organization at the Ohio State University, and one of the most successful Wikipedia-oriented student organizations in North America. In the 2016-2017 school year, over 100 students and faculty have attended Wikipedia Connection's events, ranging from weekly workshops to edit-a-thons to photo scavenger hunts. In addition to the great works by students and attendees, I'm thrilled to see Wikipedia Connection teaming up with various student groups to accomplish more. For example, Wikipedia Connection teamed up with Ohio State's Assocation of Computing Machinery Women's (ACM-W) chapter to put on an edit-a-thon on women in computing, as well as helped support HackOHI/O 2016, Ohio State's annual hackathon that drew more than 750 students from throughout the Midwest.

Wikipedia Connection also gave headway to the creation of a new user group, the Ohio Wikimedians User Group. With several active Wikimedians located throughout Ohio, alongside the potential for events throughout the state, the Ohio Wikimedians User Group was formed to support and develop the Wikimedia movement and community in the entire state of Ohio. While Wikipedia Connection falls under the umbrella of the Ohio Wikimedians User Group, it still functions as its own university student group with its own leadership. This is exciting, as not only can graduating Wikipedia Connection students transition into active participation on a state-level through the Ohio Wikimedians User Group, but members of the User Group can also help support Wikipedia Connection in the future.

Wikipedia Connection has a bright and exciting future ahead of it. In Fall 2016, our friend and experienced Wikipedian Addis Wang graduated, followed by Maria Rimmel and myself in Spring 2017. The next semester's leadership, consisting of Jon, Emery, and Nora, will be taking the reins - and represent the first "class" of Wikipedia Connection to have learned most everything about editing Wikipedia from Wikipedia Connection itself. With new ideas and motivations, I'm excited to see where the new leadership takes the organization, and the awesome events and collaborations they can come up with. To all my friends who helped make Wikipedia Connection possible up through now, thank you. To all the current Wikipedia Connection members, I'm proud and thrilled of everything you've done so far. Good luck in the next year and I'll see you around - on Wikipedia and elsewhere!

Overall Stats for 2016-2017

 * >130 unique attendees
 * >22 new articles
 * 23 weekly workshops
 * 9 major events

 Officers

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Autumn 2016

 * President: Kevin Payravi
 * Vice President: Maria Rimmel
 * Treasurer: Nora Myer
 * Board of Trustees:
 * David Peterson
 * Addis Wang
 * Jon McMahon
 * valign="top" |

Spring 2017

 * President: Kevin Payravi
 * Vice President: Maria Rimmel
 * Treasurer: Nora Myer
 * Board of Trustees:
 * David Peterson
 * Addis Wang
 * Jon McMahon
 * Emery Dalesio
 * }

 Acknowledgments Beyond our organization’s officers and members are many other organizations and individuals who helped make Wikipedia Connection’s first year a success, all of whom we’d like to acknowledge on this page and the next.

Wikipedia and Wikipedia-related Organizations

 * A thank you to the Wikimedia Foundation staff, for providing grant funds and guidance to make all of our events and activities possible.
 * A thank you to the Wiki Education Foundation, for providing guidance and physical resources for our members.
 * A thank you to the various members of the Wikimedia community, who provide advice and guidance to Wikipedia Connection’s organizers and members throughout the year.
 * A thank you to the organizers of Art+Feminism, who provided resources and guidance to allow for Wikipedia Connection to host Columbus' first Art+Feminism event.
 * A thank you to the Ohio State University Libraries, whose staff have provided a countless amount of support and resources.
 * A thank you to Ohio State Student Life, for providing resources, funding, and support.

Ohio State Faculty and Staff

 * Leigh Bonds
 * In Autumn 2016, Leigh Bonds joined The Ohio State University Libraries as its first Digital Humanities Librarian. Leigh was previously at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she hosted an Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon. With Brian's departure as Wikipedia Connection's faculty advisor, Leigh was happy to come on board and support the organization. Leigh has provided invaluable advice and guidance, as well as help plan and host events. With every step, Leigh provides her (sometimes unseen) support - thank you Leigh!
 * Brian Leaf – Instructional Design Librarian
 * Brian stepped in as Wikipedia Connection’s new faculty advisor in Spring 2016. Before Brian left the university in Fall 2016, Brian provided Wikipedia Connection officers with advice, guidance, and a network of people to work with - thank you Brian!
 * Beth Black – Undergraduate Engagement Librarian
 * Beth Black has helped Wikipedia Connection numerous times with outreach, event planning, and guidance - thank you Beth!
 * Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros - Mary P. Key Resident Librarian, Latin American Studies
 * Pamela supported Wikipedia Connection's Art+Feminism event with guidance, as well as getting getting her class involved with finding articles for improvement, as well as references - thank you Pamela!
 * Joshua Sadvari – Research Commons Program Manager
 * The Research Commons has been Wikipedia Connection's home for most of its meetings and events for over a year, proving to be the perfect space for collaborative work and socialization. Joshua continues to support Wikipedia Connection as the Program Manager of the Research Commons - thank you Josh!

 List of Events {| width="100%" |
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Summer 2016

 * Great Buckeye Wiknic 2016
 * GLAM Introductory Session
 * valign="top" |
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Autumn 2016

 * Involvement Fair
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * United Nations Day Edit-a-thon 2016
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Spanish & Portuguese Edit-A-Thon
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Wikipedia Asian Month Edit-a-thon 2016
 * 'Wikipedia in Your Next Project' presentation with Open Source Club
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * valign="top" |

Spring 2017

 * Involvement Fair
 * Wikipedia Day Celebration
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * #1Lib1Ref Brown Bag Session
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Women in Computing Edit-a-thon 2017
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon 2017
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * Weekly Workshop
 * }

 Event Summaries

Weekly Workshops
For two years now, Wikipedia Connection has hosted Weekly Workshops that typically last 1 – 2 hours each. These weekly meetups start with club updates and wiki news, followed by discussions, socializing, and editing. These workshops allow members time to explore Wikimedia's projects, collaboratively contribute, ask questions, and seek new topics to contribute to from other club members. Each workshop also provides food, drink, small "swag" items, and Wiki Education Foundation guide books.

Great Buckeye Wiknic 2016
The Great American Wiknic (the picnic anyone can edit) is an annual event that takes place throughout the nation, in which groups of Wikimedians come together to meet others and eat great food. In July 2016, Wikipedia Connection hosted its first Wiknic, attracting Ohio State students as well as individuals from the area - as well as Kentucky and Pennsylvania! The day's activities included grilling, discussions, board games, beach volleyball, frisbee, and the recently-released Pokemon Go. Eleven people attended in total.

GLAM Introductory Session
GLAM ("galleries, libraries, archives, and museums") is an international initiative to help cultural institutions share their resources through collaborative projects with experienced Wikimedians. Alex Stinson of the Wikimedia Foundation, while in town for the 2016 IFLA World Library and Information Congress, stopped by Ohio State to introduce GLAM to several of the club's members.

Ohio State presents many unique opportunities for GLAM collaborations, such as with the University Libraries, Archives, various special collections, campus museums, and more. While no GLAM projects have formally been completed, Wikipedia Connection members are currently working on creating collaborative projects - with more updates to come hopefully in the near future!

United Nations Day Edit-a-thon

 * Stats
 * 10 participants
 * 3 new articles
 * 18 articles improved
 * 1 file uploaded

United Nations Day is an annual day to make known the aims and achievements of the United Nations. On October 22, 2016, Wikipedia Connection recognized United Nations Day by improving Wikipedia articles on the United Nations and countries. In particular, participants were encouraged to focus on articles related to United Nations programs, history, resolutions, Sustainable Development Goals, and country demographics and relations. Offline resources from The Ohio State University Libraries were gathered and used by participants as sources for new information on Wikipedia.

Spanish & Portuguese Edit-a-thon

 * Stats
 * >60 participants
 * 194 edits
 * 4 new articles
 * 7 new drafts
 * > 40 articles improved
 * > 16,300 words added

The Spanish & Portuguese Edit-a-thon was Wikipedia Connection's first translation-focused event. Students from Ohio State's Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the "Gender and Power in Latin American Cultures" class worked to translate articles on Latin American women from Spanish and Portguese into English. Like Wikipedia Connection's previous Art+Feminism event, one of the major goals of the event was to help improve the English Wikipedia's lacking coverage of women.

Several Ohio State faculty members and professors attended the event, and provided extra credit for students to attend and contribute. This event ended up being the most well-attended Wikipedia Connection event to-date, with over 60 students attending to contribute and learn how Wikipedia works.

This event was originally spearheaded by Cesar Gemelli and Leila Vieria as part of their graduate program; once Wikipedia Connection learned about the event, the the organization collaborated with the two to support and put on the event. This edit-a-thon is the first time Wikipedia Connection was able to put on an event launched by non-members.

Wikipedia Asian Month Edit-a-thon

 * Stats
 * 15 participants
 * 67 edits
 * 2 new articles
 * > 20 articles improved

Wikipedia Asian Month is an international online edit-a-thon aimed at enhancing understanding among Asian Wikipedia communities. Every year during the month of November, hundreds of editors from around the world create hundreds of articles on Asian subjects in over 40 different language-versions of Wikipedia.

Wikipedia Connection board member Addis Wang is the head organizer of the event, and the organization decided to host an offline edit-a-thon to help contribute to the global event. Reaching out to Ohio State's various Asian-related departments, the edit-a-thon brought fifteen Wikipedia Connection members, students, and faculty together to improve articles on Asian topics. 60 edits to over 20 articles across two language editions of Wikipedia were made, on all sorts of topics including buildings, cities, organizations, language, and museums.

Wikipedia in Your Next Project with Open Source Club
 View Slidedeck 🖥️ Wikipedia Connection was one of the supporting student organizations of HackOHI/O 2016, Ohio State's student hackathon that drew over 750 students from the Midwest and beyond. In addition to providing student support, Wikipedia Connection teamed up with Ohio State's Open Source Club to present "Wikipedia in Your Next Project", which covered various ways student developers could use Wikimedia in their development projects, and how they could contribute to the Wikimedia movement themselves. This event was considered a HackOHI/O "pre-hype event", where students were encouraged to use the skills they learned from the presentation in their HackOHI/O projects.

Wikipedia 16 Celebration
Wikipedia Connection kicked off the Spring 2017 semester with a own celebration of Wikipedia's 16th birthday on January 15. The day included cake, board games, and general socializing as regularly attending members got back together for the new semester.

#1Lib1Ref Brown Bag Session
Imagine a World where Every Librarian Added One More Reference to Wikipedia.

#1Lib1Ref is an annual campaign running from January 15 to February 3, with the goal of having all librarians add just one reference to a Wikipedia article. Wikipedia Connection decided to join the campaign in 2017 with a quick #1Lib1Ref training session for Ohio State University librarians. With six librarians in attendance from varying backgrounds, each learned the basics of editing and added at least one reference to replace a [citation needed] tag.

One of the tools that proved to be useful was Citation Hunt, which allows the user to select a topic area and see relevant statements that are missing a citation on Wikipedia. With Ohio State librarians having varying specialties, the tool allowed them to quickly find statements in an area they are familiar in and most passionate about.

Women in Computing Edit-a-thon 2017
 At least...
 * Stats
 * 16 participants
 * 45 edits
 * 2 new articles
 * > 10 articles improved
 * 1 new file

The Women in Computing Edit-a-thon is Wikipedia Connection's first collaboration with another student organization to host an event. Working with Ohio State's Assocation of Computing Machinery Women's (ACM-W) chapter, the Women in Computing Wdit-a-thon focused on improving Wikipedia's articles on women in computing and related fields. Wikipedia Connection members attended one of ACM-W's weekly meetings and provided introductory Wikipedia training to ACM-W members, who then found articles on Wikipedia to improve related to women in computing.

Collaborating with other student organizations to host edit-a-thons can have great potential; oftentimes, student organizations bring together self-selected students who are motivated around a certain topic or passion. Hosting an edit-a-thon with these students is great for both Wikipedia and students, as they get to engage their topic area while helping improve Wikipedia's coverage on it.

Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon

 * Stats
 * 34 participants
 * 113 edits
 * 11 new articles
 * 5 new drafts
 * > 25 articles improved

The Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon is a global fun, inclusive one-day event that brings together diverse communities to create and improve Wikipedia articles related to women in the arts. Despite its wide reach, Wikipedia suffers from a severe gender imbalance: since most editors are men, articles conform to men's interests and perspectives. In an effort to change this, Art+Feminism gathers diverse women and allies together to celebrate women's cultural achievements and discuss openly ongoing challenges caused by structural sexism.

2017 marked Columbus’ second year in hosting an Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon, once again in the Research Commons of the Ohio State University Libraries. This year's event brought over double the participants as last year, thanks to marketing and inviting students who attended previous edit-a-thons (in particular, the Spanish & Portuguese Edit-a-thon). With 11 new articles created, and many more improved, this event was a great success.

Prior to the edit-a-thon, Wikipedia Connection partnered up with Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros and her Understanding the Global Information in Society course. Wikipedia Connetion members presented the basics of Wikipedia to the class, who also helped the event by finding articles and sources to use at the event.

A feature and summary of the event was posted on the Ohio State Research Commons blog: Wikipedia Connection Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon.

Wikipedia Takes Columbus
Wikipedia Takes Columbus is a photo drive to contribute images of Columbus to the Wikimedia Commons, a collection of free educational media. Spring 2016 marked Wikipedia Connection's first Wikipedia Takes Columbus event, which lasted for a week and resulted in 135 photo uploads.

In Spring 2017, Wikipedia Connection co-hosted Wikipedia Takes Columbus with the newer Ohio Wikimedians User Group. The photo drive lasted for ten day, and included a scavenger hunt on April 12, where Wikipedia Connection members explored and photographed Ohio State's campus. A major focus of the hunt was to photograph missing buildings for a future "List of buildings at Ohio State University" article.

To add a bit of competitive spirit to the event, two prize categories for top contributors were provided, in which the winners each received a Wikipedia-branded water bottle:
 * The participant who uploaded the most photos of unillustrated Ohio State campus buildings (Winner: Blervis).
 * The participant who added the most of their own photos to Wikipedia articles (Winner: Rimmel.Edits).

In the end, five participants uploaded 181 photos of Columbus and the Ohio State University to the Wikimedia Commons. Several images have since been used to illustrate Wikipedia articles.

All images from the drive can be viewed on the Wikimedia Commons here; a sample selection is provided below.