Education/Greenhouse/Application Guidance

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Background[edit]

What is the timeline?

  • Applications open: April 5 - May 12, 2019.
  • Community provides feedback to team applications: May 13 - 19, 2019
  • Committee reviews applications: May 2019.
  • Selected team is announced: June 17, 2019.
  • W&E Greenhouse (including the online course) starts: July 1st.

How can I learn more?

  • Watch the recording of our virtual information session held on April 17th where we reviewed the team application process and answered some questions from the community.

Team Applications[edit]

Get together with a group of fellow Wikimedians who are enthusiastic about starting an education initiative in your community (at least 3 people). Read through the application guidelines below to make sure you all understand the commitment, timeline and scope of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse and decide if it’s right for you. Once you’re ready, complete the corresponding application form by May 12th, 2019. One team will be chosen to participate in this first edition of the Greenhouse. This team will receive seed funding, on-site support from WMF staff, and will participate in a free 9-month online course on project management for Wikimedia and education projects. You can find more information about the selection criteria below.

Team Application Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in being part of the first edition of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse. Please read the following guidelines carefully and make sure you understand them before starting an application.

  1. The Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse is an opportunity designed for one team of highly motivated Wikimedians to have access to training, mentoring and resources to turn their idea into action.
  2. The idea to be developed under the Greenhouse needs to be connected to a Wikimedia project (Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikivoyage, etc.) and your local education context.
  3. Every team applying to the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse should have at least 3 members.
  4. A good application will demonstrate your knowledge of and relationships with local education actors and institutions as well as with your Wikimedia community. It will include clear and concrete roles for every team member, actions and goals, as well as the team’s vision for sustainability of their project. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
  5. The Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse is not a space for the following: learning how to edit Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects, funding user groups or chapters, developing an academic research paper, or getting funding to pay for third-party services.
  6. Applications will be reviewed by an independent committee formed by members of Wikimedia affiliate groups and WMF staff. The committee will use the criteria published below to evaluate applications. Feedback from the selection committee will be published for transparency purposes.
  7. The chosen team to participate in the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse will receive seed funding to get their project off the ground. The financial support received can be invested to fund staff, hardware, or other resources that would be vital to the project's success. Applications should demonstrate a clear budget and reporting plan that connects to the project goals.
  8. The chosen team will receive on-site mentoring and guidance by a member of the WMF Education team at the beginning and at the end of the implementation period of their idea. These visits will be scheduled in advance in consultation with the selected team. All team members are required to be present on site at the time of these visits.
  9. At least one team member needs to commit to fully participate in the “Wikimedia Education Project Management” online course starting the first week of July 2019. This online course will consist of an introductory unit followed by 3 didactic units that will cover topics related to knowledge equity, developing workshops and trainings, working with stakeholders, and impact evaluation. Each unit will last 2 months and will demand a time commitment of between 2.5 - 3 hours per week.
  10. By applying to the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse, all members of the team commit to staying actively engaged from start to finish. The tentative timeline for the first edition of the Greenhouse is as follows:
    1. Applications open: April 5th - May 12th, 2019
      Online Course Curriculum
    2. Committee evaluates applications: May 2019
    3. Selected team is announced: June 17th, 2019
    4. Wikimedia Education Project Management online course starts: July 1st
    5. Selected team receives first on-site visit from member of WMF Education team: July - October, 2019 (in consultation with the selected team)
    6. Participants complete Unit 1 of online course: September 12th, 2019
    7. Participants complete Unit 2 of online course: December 6th, 2019
    8. Participants complete Unit 3 of online course: February 28th, 2020
    9. Selected team receives second on-site visit from member of WMF Education team: March - May, 2020 (in consultation with the selected team)
    10. Selected team finishes implementation of their project: June, 2020
    11. Selected team starts working on their impact report: July, 2020
    12. Selected team communicates impact report: August, 2020
  11. A number of communication channels will be available for the participants in the Greenhouse (Moodle forums, Slack channels, Talk pages, etc). Participants are expected to follow our Code of Conduct for communications in these channels. Abusive behavior will not be tolerated.


Selection Criteria for Team Applications

The following criteria will be used to evaluate team applications:

Basic criteria (minimum requirements)
  • Application is fully complete
  • Team members have clear roles defined (including who will participate in the online course)
  • Team demonstrate intermediate to proficient command of English
  • Team members are in the same location or have defined a clear plan to articulate their project in one common location
Advanced criteria

Understanding of W&E Greenhouse:

  • Team’s motivation to join the Greenhouse is aligned with its scope and goals
  • Application shows understanding of what the Greenhouse is and team’s expectations are aligned with its scope and goals

Project description:

  • Project idea describes context, theme, goals, strategies, duration, and other details
  • Budget plan is detailed and realistic
  • Team demonstrates a clear idea of evaluation plans and tools that respond to the expected impact of the project
  • Team is realistic about foreseen challenges and has a clear action plan to overcome them.

Connection between Wikimedia projects and education goals:

  • Team understands the value of Wikimedia projects in the education field
  • Project description includes goals that target needs of local Wikimedia communities and educational needs

Relevance to local educational context:

  • Project idea demonstrates deep knowledge of local education context and how Wikimedia projects can be used to solve local education challenges

Sustainability of project:

  • Project idea is sustainable and scalable
  • Team demonstrates relationships or plans to establish relationships with local partners (Wikimedia communities and education institutions)

Team’s capacity and composition:

  • Scope of the project is realistic and in tune with the resources the team has or will have access to (human, financial, etc.)
  • At least one team member has experience organizing Wikimedia outreach activities
  • None of the team members have a history of harmful interactions in the Wikimedia movement
Other criteria
  • Project is located in an area that is underrepresented in the Wikimedia movement
  • Project deals with educational challenges related to a small language community
  • Link to the movement strategy is clearly articulated
  • Project has a good number of endorsements

Applications will be scored on a point system based on the criteria listed above with 5 points for applications that exceed expectations, 3 points for those that meet expectations, and 1 point for applications that do not meet expectations.

Submit your Application![edit]

When you are ready to submit your team application, add your project name in the input box. Applications are open from April 5th to May 12th, 2019. If you have any further questions, feel free to send a message to mguadalupe﹫wikimedia.org

Applications are now closed

Submitted Applications[edit]

This list is automatically generated listing pages with the category "Education/greenhouse/teamsubmissions" (Purge the cache of this page in case a recent draft does not yet appear here)


Individual Applications[edit]

If you are an individual who would like to learn more about Wikimedia projects in education but are not ready to commit for the immersive Greenhouse experience, you can still join us on the free online course “Wikimedia Education Project Management - An introductory course on how to change the world with Wikimedia and education”. Read more about how you can participate in our online course below. Once you’re ready, complete the following application form: Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse - Individual Application for Online Course. The course will be open until March 2020. Through this online course you will be immersed in a co-learning environment with a global cohort of peers. There’s no limit to the participation of interested and committed individuals in this free online course.

Online Course Details[edit]

In this section you can find more information and resources about the online course, a key element of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse. Remember that while the course started in July 2019, you are still welcome to participate. To be part of this free online course you only need to complete the following application form: Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse - Individual Application for Online Course. The online course is open for any enthusiastic volunteer who is looking to strengthen their project management skills for Wikimedia education projects.

Individual Application Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in being part of the first edition of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse. Please read the following guidelines carefully and make sure you understand them before starting an individual application.

  1. Interested Wikimedians can join the “Wikimedia Education Project Management” online course free of charge and without having to submit a team application.
  2. The “Wikimedia Education Project Management” online course is a fundamental part of the first edition of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is an opportunity designed for one team of highly motivated Wikimedians to have access to training, mentoring and resources to turn their idea into action. You can find the team application guidelines for the W&E Greenhouse here.
  3. This online course is a co-learning experience designed for community members who are interested in integrating Wikimedia projects in education, and for education leaders within the movement who wish to expand their knowledge, skills, and network. It is particularly aimed to increase the capacity of individuals in underrepresented communities who do not have easy access to specialized training opportunities.
  4. The “Wikimedia Education Project Management” online course is not a space for the following: learning how to edit Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects, learning how to create user groups or chapters, or developing an academic research paper.
  5. Participation in the online course is free, no payment fee will be required from participants at any point.
  6. The main language of instruction of the course will be in English, resources and assignments will only be available in English for the time being. However, spaces for interacting in other languages will be available so participants can have more localized conversations.
  7. Online Course Curriculum
    The “Wikimedia Education Project Management” online course contains an introductory unit and three didactic units. The course is structured as follows (see image for more details):
    1. Unit 0: introduction to the course.
    2. Unit 1: understanding the power of knowledge equity and the Wikimedia projects in global education.
    3. Unit 2: learning the basics of project management applied to Wikimedia and education.
    4. Unit 3: monitoring the development of our projects, evaluating impact, communicating our learnings and successes with the world.
  8. The online course will be delivered at an accessible pace to ensure that all participants can fully participate. Each unit will require a time commitment of 2.5 - 3 hours per week during the span of 2-3 months. Except for certain scheduled open video-conference sessions, participants are free to decide the times and days they log in to the course to complete tasks and assignments. There will be a “break period” between each unit. Participants will receive a notification when the next unit is about to start.
  9. The tentative timeline for the first edition of the W&E Greenhouse is as follows:
    1. Applications open: April 5th - May 12th, 2019
    2. Wikimedia Education Project Management online course starts: July 1st
    3. Participants complete Unit 1: September 12th, 2019
    4. Participants complete Unit 2: December 6th, 2019
    5. Participants complete Unit 3: February 28th, 2020
  10. By completing all the units in this online course, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to design and conduct a successful Wikimedia and education project in their local communities. However, participants are free to choose to complete all units or just a number of them. Participants will receive a recognition of completion according to their level of engagement in each unit of the course.
  11. A number of communication channels will be available for the participants in the Greenhouse (Moodle forums, Slack channels, Talk pages, etc). Participants are expected to follow our Code of Conduct for communications in these channels. Abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

When you are ready to submit your course application, click on the button below. The course was launched on July, 2019 and will be open until May 10, 2020. If you have any further questions, feel free to send a message to mguadalupe﹫wikimedia.org

     Click here to register for the online course      


Code of Conduct for Online Communications[edit]

Participants in the first edition of the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse have access to different channels of communication:

These channels allow participants to communicate between each other as well as to communicate with WMF staff, lecturers, and other members of the Wikimedia & Education community. In order to encourage a positive experience in these communication spaces, participants are expected to honor the following guidelines:

General guidelines and expectations:

  • The communication channels are spaces for active, friendly and supportive interactions between participants. Please, demonstrate fair and equal treatment to all.
  • Participants should be patient and polite in their communications. Keep in mind that a person’s environment and circumstances can be different than your own (internet connection, level of English proficiency, experience with the topic, time availability, etc.) and that this can affect communications.
  • We appreciate and value different perspectives and points of view; however, we will not tolerate discrimination or harassment against participants based on their age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, race, language, political beliefs, profession, religion, socioeconomic status, and technical skills.

Best practices:

  • Assume good faith in your interactions with others.
  • Be mindful and respectful of cultural differences that might shape communications. Ask clarifying questions before making judgements.
  • When asking questions, make sure they come from a place of genuine curiosity and intent of understanding. Keep an open mind.
  • Express disagreements and discomfort respectfully, be clear and speak in first person.
  • Respect the privacy of participants. Communications should not be shared outside of the W&E Greenhouse channels without express permission of all participants involved.
  • Keep conversations on topic. Avoid sharing spam, invites to pages or groups that are not relevant to the conversations, links to personal fundraising or personal businesses unless they are clearly required, etc.
  • Avoid using only capital letters on messages (if you do, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE YELLING).
  • Before creating a new conversation topic or thread, do a quick search in the channel to make sure that it doesn’t already exist. If it exists, preferably add your thoughts and input into that space to continue the conversation.
  • Ask for consent before messaging a participant through a private channel and show respect if they do not wish to communicate in that way.
  • Show appreciation for others: say thank you, give congratulations, celebrate successes.
  • Do not be afraid to apologize if you have inadvertently caused discomfort to other participants or if you have misunderstood a message.

Unacceptable behavior:

  • Personal attacks, violence, threats of violence, or deliberate intimidation.
  • Offensive, derogatory, or discriminatory comments.
  • Making a screencapture/copying conversations without the consent of the people involved and sharing them on external platforms.
  • Engaging and persisting in inappropriate or unwanted private communication.
  • Using this code of conduct for purposes other than reporting genuine violations of the code of conduct (e.g., retaliating against a reporter or victim by filing a report or threatening with filing a report claiming their response was harassment).

Reporting:

  • Tell the person who’s not behaving according to this code of conduct why their behaviour is unacceptable, be clear and respectful. Direct them to this document if necessary.
  • You do not have to be the victim of unacceptable behavior to report it. If you see it happening, please make a clear and respectful intervention or report the problem to mguadalupe@wikimedia.org.
  • If their behavior persists or if you feel like you need more support, report the problem to mguadalupe@wikimedia.org.

What happens next?

  • The breaches of this code of conduct will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
  • Depending on the severity of the infraction the course of action might be one or several of the actions listed below:
    • The infractor will have a chance to rectify their behavior and express a public apology. This will count as a first and only warning.
    • The infractor will be expelled from the Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse and all its associated platforms.
    • The infractor will be prevented from joining future Wikimedia & education initiatives.
    • Offensive messages will be deleted from the platform.
  • The WMF Education team will keep records of the serious infractions that take place during the course of the Greenhouse.


(This code of conduct is based on existing Wikimedia policies for maintaining friendly spaces online and offline. Some of the documents consulted were: Code of conduct for Wikimedia technical spaces, Friendly space policies, Wikipedia:Etiquette, FSP for WB2018IN, Code of Conduct & Friendly Space Policy (CoCFSP))


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