What if anything has been done to offer classes in "Editing Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation projects"?
I just posted a brief outline of a proposal on this to w:talk:Encourage_the_newcomers#virtual classes in editing Wikipedia and otherwise supporting Wikimedia Foundation projects. Your comments would be welcomed here or there.
Thanks, DavidMCEddy (talk) 06:23, 25 June 2020 (UTC)
Hi @DavidMCEddy -- thanks for bringing up this question. i have heard stories here and there about editing events, like edit-a-thons, being run online during the time of the pandemic, but I can't point to a specific example. I wonder if the Wiki Education Foundation has been thinking about this explicitly. One thing that I do know that has been successful in the past is WikiMOOC on French Wikipedia ("MOOC" standing for "massive open online course"). I think that @Trizek (WMF) might be able to fill you in or point you to more information about it.
Hello
There is actually some efforts to have Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects classes online! I'm not sure if I can list all of them, since there are numerous initiatives.
I can cite you a few examples, a lot in French since it i my primary language.
you can find massive open online courses (WikiMOOCs). Arabic and French Wikipedia have theirs. Wikimedia Chile has its own online campus for this purpose (project Wikipuentes). There is a WikiData-MOOC project ongoing.
Live editing sessions, where people are editing and explaining what they do to their audience are also common: French Wikipedia has them on Twitch, so as some Wikidataians, I know a Wiktionarist who hosts them on Youtube.
Commons hosts a lot of videos about editing. Unfortunately, a lot of ressources are dispersed.
As you noticed, all these resources are based on videos. Text-based classes are not really successful.
Some wiki-clubs are also on-line. There are less classes, but it is also a good way to learn how to edit.
Hope this helps!
Lest it's of interest, in English, I've found the Wikipedia Weekly Network videos (live and also available afterwards) to be of some interest. (See here and here).
WikiProject remote event participation seems to be an attempt to coordinate good practice, and the Wikimedia DC chapter have recently run quite a few online events (mostly someone talking over a live Powerpoint presentation about the basics of Wikipedia).
But the real failure of all of us is to effectively find a way to gather together and make available information on current events, meetups and live online classes and to promote that calendar effectively. Without somebody creating a good platform to find out what's going on, and where, and then getting it publicised and used correctly, we are wasting so many wonderful opportunities.
I think this question and answer sums the situation up quite succinctly.
