Courses

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki

Beginner Track
Title Detail Expected Outcome
Wikipedia Basics
  1. Wikipedia Essentials
  2. Editing Basics
  3. Evaluating Articles and Sources
  4. Sandboxes and Mainspaces
  5. Sources and Citations
  6. Plagiarism and Copyright violations
Wikipedia is the best-known wiki project, and it is a must that every editor knows the relevant information related to it. The participant can thoroughly discuss what Wikipedia is, how it is used, and how to start being an editor in this project.
Administrator Track
Title Detail Expected Outcome
Wikimedia Incubator
  1. How to start a new language Wiki
  2. Policies on Wikimedia Incubator
  3. How to contribute to a test Wiki on Incubator
Our group specializes in the Wikimedia Incubator work, being able to hatch three wiki projects in three years. We see this as an essential skill for a participant choosing this track. They should not only know how to work on wikis but also how all these wiki projects start from scratch. A deep understanding of how a wiki project takes birth They are also to be advised to be regular editors on a Wikimedia Incubator project we are working on, the Rinconada Wiktionary. incubator:Wt/bto
Stewards and their tasks Administrators should also know how the stewards work. On the hierarchy level, these people are above them, and in the future, they may want to be part of this global group once they have enough experience as local administrators. Learn the essential information for stewards and adapt the skills once they themselves apply for a local administrator.
Different types of access:
  1. Administrator Access
  2. Interface Administrator Access
  3. Bureaucrat Access
  4. Checkuser Access
  5. Oversight Access
Administrator access will be the focus of this session; however, it is still helpful to understand how other advanced rights work and why they are needed. Current administrators in the group will show them the advanced tools and rights they may have once they have also been approved as administrators. Participants will be given an actual scenario, particularly an instance in a Wikiproject, and they can decide what’s best resolved once they have become administrators
Policies and Guidelines in Editing, Friendly Space Policy It is important to acquire the technical skills of an editor, but it is also essential to have the values of a Wikimedian. There are instances in which an administrator may have to resolve conflicts in talk pages and community portals, weighing in whether an editor should be banned or not, and knowledge about good faith and how to resolve online conflicts can help them determine the most effective solution. Participants will know how to identify common misconduct, where to report it, or when to decide to block an editor. They will also know when to provide protection for pages that are prone to vandalism and who the group of editors is that may only access them.
Campaign Organizer Track
Title Detail Expected Outcome
Running Edit-a-thons
  1. Defining the event
  2. Planning for the edit-a-thon
  3. Planning leading up to the event
Edit-a-thons are the usual gateways for campaign organizers to harness their skills, especially since there are annual global campaigns being conducted across the movement. In this session, they will learn how to draft an edit-a-thon program, define sets of targets based on prospected participants, and identify the needs to conduct a successful edit-a-thon. Participants will be asked to submit a draft plan for an edit-a-thon they wish to conduct. It may be participation in an existing global campaign or a new one.
Learning and Evaluation:
  1. Use of the Programs and Events Dashboard
  2. Use of the Hashtag tracker tool
  3. Use of Event Registration tool
Edit statistics are relevant in each edit-a-thon conducted. Participants will know how to set up an event dashboard, filter the tracker tool to get specific data, and enroll participants in the dashboard. Participants will be asked to create a dashboard based on the edit-a-thon plan they have created. They will be given an existing campaign that has used the hashtag tracker tool and will analyze the data given by the tool. Questions would be:
  1. How many editors have joined the program?
  2. Who is the top and last editor?
  3. Within a definite timeframe, how many edits were recorded?
  4. Were there edits created but not related to the campaign?
Support and Safety This session will tackle how to keep an event safe and how to process harassment reports on and off the wiki. This will also focus on the Safe, Brave Space Policy being implemented by Art+Feminism. Participants will be given scenarios that involve different types of harassment, and they will be asked to provide the best resolution for each. They will also be given scenarios where they must take action based on the DEI principles.
Creating the Event Page of the Project In every campaign, it is essential to provide a campaign page that provides the overall information about the campaign, the participant list, the resources to be used, the topic list, and the rules for the edit-a-thon. In this session, they will be shown examples of event pages and made aware of the different templates being used in creating an event page. Participants will be able to create a test event page for their edit-a-thons and campaigns. This will be created on a local wiki project in their sandboxes.
Rapid Fund Project Proposal Participants, especially those who have chosen to be community organizers, will be asked to create a Rapid Fund proposal. This will be panel-reviewed and once approved, we will be instructed to create it on WMF Fluxx for next year's activity. It can also be incorporated into the General Community Fund and implemented through micro-funding. Three to five rapid fund proposals, depending on the number of participants. Three approved rapid funds are to be implemented in the community.
Campaign Immersion While this training is ongoing, several projects of the affiliate are also being run. Participants in this training will be asked to be part of the facilitation and organization of the project. Actual involvement in the current campaign being led by the group and providing support during the reporting stage
Training Using the LDP Resource
Title Projected Timeline Detail Expected Outcome
Understanding Leadership Roles and Skills 3 sessions Volunteers will be made aware of the different roles and tasks being handled by what we consider leaders in the movement, such as affiliate leaders, campaign organizers, administrators, and others. Deep understanding of each leadership role in the Wikimedia movement. This will provide an initial idea of which track they will take.
Navigating Leadership Situations 3 sessions As the program commences, each participant will be evaluated, and based on the needs and feedback being raised, a discussion of further topics on the scope of leadership will be presented. A part of this session will also revolve around the UCoC and the Friendly Space Policy. Forums on DEI will also follow to support not only the technical know-how of each volunteer on Wiki projects and communities but also the values expected from every Wikimedian. This section focuses more on the actual situation a leader faces inside an organization. More of the assessments that will be given at this point are situational questions. They are expected to provide resolutions and practical actions to each given situation with the know-how on how a leader would respond.
Starting a Leadership Development Initiative 3 sessions There are four essential steps in this category: Define, Prepare, Deliver, and Follow up. These steps will be discussed in detail. While this part heavily leans on community organizer skills, we see that administrators may also benefit from this, especially for on-wiki events, supporting organizers accessing the wiki projects for event pages, and even providing new policies to be followed by the local editor community. Participants will have an idea of how to structure their plans, provide objectives, gather different types of support, and successfully implement a project.