User talk:Jimmyjrg/Introduction To Wikipedia course

Encouraging results!

Thank you for this very interesting report! I find the numbers very encouraging, actually: I think they validate the value of high-quality self-paced online training, and show that by eliminating the per-capita investment, one can reach out to thousands to attract hundreds to train dozens to retain a handful. This matches my hypothesis about the efficacy of an online-course-based "big funnel" approach to outreach.

I am curious if you could share a bit more about the reach of your course -- how and where was it advertised? As far as you know, what backgrounds do most learners come from? Asaf (WMF) (talk) 16:38, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Thanks @Asaf (WMF). That's good to hear the stats aren't as grim as I felt.

In terms of advertising, I posted about the course on Diff, and WMAU shared it in their members newsletter. Outside of that, there were a few shares on social media, but nothing huge. Someone from WMF social media team said they'd share my Diff post on their channels but I don't think they did as I never saw it. I'm sure there were a few random posts on X/Twitter at one point, but I can't see them now either.

Presumably, someone shared it in December 2024 because there was an influx of new enrolments.

Here's some social media posts I could find:

• WMAU on Facebook (Jan 2025) 3 likes, 2 shares.
• WMAU on LinkedIn (Jan 2025) 8 reactions, 1 share.
• My Wikimania 2024 video was also viewed 62 times, though it had no links in the description.

I'm not sure of the background of the students, unfortunately.

Initially, WMAU was targeting it towards teachers so they could use it within their classes, but I don't know how far that went. Jimmyjrg (talk) 11:38, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

Thank you!

Have you considered proposing to advertise it to readers of Wikipedia in Australia (using a geolocated CentralNotice banner)? That could easily reach many thousands of people, and you could do a small experiment (i.e. put it up until a couple of hundred people sign up for the course, then take it down and see how they do). Asaf (WMF) (talk) 20:23, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi @Asaf (WMF), sorry for my late reply. I have had this at the back of my mind for a while, but I finally requested a CentralNotice banner: CentralNotice/Request/Introduction To Wikipedia course I requested the banner to stay up for 2 weeks in early Jan for everyone on EnWikipedia. Jimmyjrg (talk) 11:25, 6 November 2025 (UTC)

Excellent! In the meantime, we are experimenting with CentralNotice in sub-Saharan Africa inviting people to take the Wikimedia Core Curriculum on WikiLearn. It has already resulted in hundreds of enrollments. It remains to be seen if we manage to attract and retain active editors in this way. Asaf (WMF) (talk) 22:09, 6 November 2025 (UTC)