Education/News/August 2024/Wiki Movimento Brasil aims to adapt a game about Wikipedia, organize an academic event for scientific dissemination, and host the XXXIII Wiki-Education Workshop
Wiki Movimento Brasil aims to adapt a game about Wikipedia, organize an academic event for scientific dissemination, and host the XXXIII Wiki-Education Workshop
Wikeys Games: WMB is determined to adapt playful learning to the unique needs of the Brazilian reality
The Wikeys game, created by Wikimedia France, is an educational board game designed to make learning about Wikipedia enjoyable and collaborative. It simulates the process of creating a Wikipedia article, encouraging players to work together to create high-quality content.
Wiki Movimento Brasil (WMB) has translated the game and is now working to adapt it to the Brazilian context. WMB is organizing workshops and ongoing tests to tailor Wikeys to local needs. Educators, students, and the general public are invited to try the game and share their feedback. This input will be crucial for enhancing Wikeys and ensuring its effectiveness in promoting education and free knowledge in Brazil.
How does the game work?
Wikeys provides an immersive learning experience for participants by offering simulations and interactive tasks that go beyond mere theoretical concepts. The activity sets the stage for a demanding challenge: crafting a compelling Wikipedia entry. As players engage in the game, they partake in a collective exercise where making mistakes is inevitable, emphasizing the importance of collaboration. The process of rectifying errors and assisting fellow participants in achieving a common goal authentically captures the intricate dynamics experienced by Wikipedia editors. This unique approach makes Wikeys a compelling platform for fostering a deeper understanding of the constructive attitudes essential in shaping online knowledge.
Wikey's Workshops
In July, during the team integration meeting of Wiki Movimento Brasil, the first Wikeys workshop took place, providing participants with a hands-on experience of how Wikipedia works. Juliana Cunha, one of the facilitators, emphasized that the game provides an opportunity to create a Wikipedia entry in a fun and interactive way. According to Juliana, playing is essential for human development. She believes that practical experience is more impactful and assimilated than theory. Juliana explained that Wikeys offers a learning environment that combines theory with practice, providing effective and enjoyable training.
Wikeys challenges participants to create a Wikipedia entry, simulating the real editing process with its inevitable challenges and errors. Juliana noted that the activity promotes collaboration and collective effort to overcome mistakes and achieve a better result. She stated that the game is a powerful means of internalizing beneficial attitudes in the construction of free online knowledge.
Artur Corrêa Souza, who implemented Wikeys at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), provided practical experience to complement Juliana's vision. In a Mathematics Education and Teaching class taught by Professor Márcia Notare, Artur introduced the game following an explanation about Wikipedia, the encyclopedic text genre, and free licenses. The students participated in Wikeys and then edited Wikipedia entries related to Mathematics Education and associated technologies.
One student highlighted a crucial lesson learned during the game: "We don't have the option of not making mistakes. And correcting our mistakes is not just our job, but the community's". This comment reflects the essence of Wikeys, which simulates collaborative work and continuous correction, fundamental aspects of Wikipedia's dynamics. With the success of this workshop and the observed positive impact, Wikeys stands out as an innovative tool for educators and students. By transforming learning about Wikipedia into a fun and interactive experience, Wikeys facilitates understanding of the processes involved in creating and editing collaborative content, promoting greater integration with the spirit of Wikipedia and free knowledge.
The partnership between Wiki Movimento Brasil and a Brazilian university promotes an event on Wikimedia and Scientific Dissemination
The Wiki Movimento Brasil, in collaboration with the Bauru School of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo (USP), is hosting an event called "Wikimedia and Science: Potentialities in Scientific Extension and Dissemination". This event aims to emphasize the importance of partnerships between universities and movements supporting free knowledge. The initiative seeks to explore the potential of free digital platforms in university extension and scientific dissemination. The partnership with USP underlines the joint commitment to promoting open and accessible science. The event will be held in Bauru (SP) on October 30, 2024, and is inviting students, professors, and researchers to submit papers in poster format. The submitted proposals should address topics such as open science, open educational resources, and the use of free platforms in research and teaching projects, reflecting the interconnection between academia and technology in reinforcing scientific dissemination.
Through this collaboration, Wiki Movimento Brasil and USP aim to create a space for dialogue and knowledge exchange, encouraging the academic community to actively participate in the construction and dissemination of knowledge. The program will feature activities including a scientific session with researcher Thais Morata from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as well as the launch of the digital course "Introduction to Basic Audiology", highlighting the university's role in creating open educational resources.
Those interested in participating should submit their abstracts by September 20, 2024. For more information about the event and the submission of papers, please contact educacao
wmnobrasil
org
XXXIII Wikimedia & Education Workshop
The XXXIII Wikimedia & Education Workshop took place on August 22, 2024. Professor Dr. Alícia Duhá Lose, from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), attended this edition and presented on "New forms, technologies, and tools to approach an old science: the experience of the Paleography MOOC on the Wiki Network". She shared the experience of the Paleography MOOC on the Wiki Network, a course organized by Memória e Arte and Wiki Movimento Brasil.
This course, available on Wikiversidade, integrated new scientific perspectives and tools from Digital Humanities, promoting collaborative transcriptions on Wikisource. The course, with synchronous classes from June 1 to August 31, was carried out in partnership with academic and memory institutions such as the Philology Sector of the Institute of Letters of the Federal University of Bahia, the Center for Global Studies of the Open University of Portugal, and the Public Archive of the State of Bahia.
After Alícia’s presentation, Sandra Soster, GLAM manager at Wiki Movimento Brasil (WMB), conducted a workshop on open-source licensing of collections in Brazil. Following that, Lucas Belo, project assistant at Wiki Movimento Brasil, led a workshop on uploading to Wikimedia Commons.
The Wikimedia & Education workshops provide opportunities to engage with an active and collaborative community of educators who are transforming education through Wikimedia platforms. The aim of these workshops is to form a support network and exchange experiences among educators. Each event includes a presentation by an educator or researcher who already uses Wikimedia platforms for educational purposes, followed by a practical tutorial led by a Wikimedian.
Experience Report: Including Researchers' Biographies in Wikipedia
This month's recommended resource is the "Experience Report: Inclusion of Biographies of Female Researchers in Wikipedia," presented at Universidade Aberta. The report discusses a project that aims to address gender disparity by creating entries on female researchers in science and technology. It narrates the participation of high school students in the creation of these entries and details the challenges and lessons learned during the process. The project not only promotes gender equity on the platform but also develops research, writing, and collaboration skills among students.