Wikimedia Hackathon 2017/Mentoring Program

For this year’s Hackathon we will be implementing a mentoring program for newcomers to our movement.

What is the Mentoring Program?
The mentoring program is a new approach that we are trying out for the first time, to get more newcomers into the movement, help them with the whole onboarding process, and make their way into the great Wikimedia tech community as easy and as much fun as possible.

This program will give newcomers the chance to dive into the Wikimedia movement and try out projects that are designed in a way that will give them the chance to hack on something that can be accomplished on that weekend, with the support of experienced Wikimedians as their mentors. While hacking, the newcomers can get to know the Wikimedia movement and see what impact they can have.

What does it mean to be a mentor?
Since the mentoring program is something new this year - much more guided and focused than previous initiatives (like e.g. the buddy system) - we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Being a mentor means:

You will be at the hackathon exclusively as a mentor! You will create projects that are newbie-friendly and you will work on them together with the newcomers  for the whole weekend. You will not get as much done as you would on your own, but you will contribute an incredible amount of value to the community by sharing your knowledge and helping the movement grow.
 * Before the hackathon, everyone will come up with newcomer friendly projects, broken into small and large, easy to accomplish tasks. We will collect them on Phabricator on the Wikimedia Hackathon 2017 workboard, and you can also put yourself down as a mentor for projects on the Community Wishlist. Detailed instructions (what to contribute where) will follow asap, please stay tuned!

You will work with newcomers throughout the three days, but you will not be left alone: We will have regular mentor-meetings during the weekend, to asses the situation, identify potential problems in advance and provide help and exchange within the mentoring team as well as the hackathon staff. Whatever you need during the weekend, you can count on the hackathon staff team to help you out as best as we possibly can!
 * Before the hackathon, we will keep sending you emails with updates on the mentoring program as we will develop it together – since this is a first time for all of us, we really value your feedback and contributions!
 * At the opening ceremony, the mentoring program and the mentoring team (as a group, not personally) will be introduced and greeted with a round of applause.
 * After the opening ceremony, mentors and newcomers will meet in person and get to know each other, and both mentors as well as newcomers can decide with whom, and on which project they want to work together for the weekend.
 * And, as a special thank you: you will get some mentors-only goodies, and your commitment to teach others will be much, much appreciated!

Mentors for Vienna 2017

 * So newcomers can look it over to meet them in advance
 * Mentors can add a description of themselves, or a quote, and their contact details if they like

Link to possible projects on features projects page in MediaWiki
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General sources for MediaWiki

 * Starter’s Guide: How to become a MediaWiki Hacker
 * here on MediaWiki.org, the main website for the software itself…
 * … and its extensions manuals

Resources from MediaWiki pre-hackathon workshops in Vienna

 * Tutorial for installing MediaWiki on a server, by jackie: wmws.tantemalkah.at
 * Installing MediaWiki using VirtualBox, by Tobias: Download PDF
 * Quick Start in MediaWiki System Administration, by Alex: Download PDF

To prepare for the Wikimedia Hackathon

 * Have a look at the Hackathon FAQs to get an idea of what the event is going to be like: Hackathon-FAQs on mediawiki.org
 * Read the Starter’s Guide How to become a MediaWiki Hacker
 * Create your account on Phabricator. During the hackathon, we use the web-based, software development collaboration tool suite Phabricator. Here’s how to get started: mediawiki.org/wiki/Phabricator/Help
 * Set up your laptop: Follow the instructions on mediawiki.org/wiki/Hackathon/Laptop_setup to get your development environment setup

Schedule of mentoring program during the hackathon

 * Opening ceremony together, then mentors and newbies will go to separate room to meet each other and get acquainted, afterwards they separate into groups to work on projects
 * Develop this in close cooperation of WMAT and WMF: Sonja, Srishti and Rachel!



Information for Newcomers
This program will give newcomers the chance to dive into the Wikimedia movement and try out projects. Projects will be designed in a way that will give newcomers the chance to hack with on something that can be completed by the end of the weekend together with an experienced Wikimedian as a mentor. While hacking, the newcomers on the team can get to know the Wikimedia movement and see what impact they can have.

We would like to create an event which will offer newcomers the opportunity to engage closely with Wikimedia projects. Pre-assigned hacking groups for newcomers will be kept small, with only four to six participants per project. It will be a unique chance to get to know some of the coolest projects and coders out there and become part of the Wikimedia community!

Newcomers who are interested to be part of the mentoring program during the Hackathon please also indicate this in the registration form together with some information on your coding skill level and interest areas so that we can match you with suitable mentors and fellow mentees.

Information for Mentors
We are looking for Wikimedians who would like to attend the Hackathon exclusively as mentors! The first part of your job will be to come up with a newcomer friendly project broken into small and large easy-to-accomplish tasks. Then you will attend the hackathon and work together with newcomers guiding them through the project from start to finish.