Education/Greenhouse/teamsubmissions/Edupedia

Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse - Team Application Form

Before starting your application, make sure all members of your team have read and understood the team application guidelines.

Project idea

Edupedia is a Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse project or initiative that seeks to target under privilege student from Junior High School, Senior high Schools, tertiary institution, Non-Governmental Organization and Education stakeholders in Ghana to mention a few.

This project seeks to train and educate children or students, teachers/tutors/lectures and stakeholders to acquire digital skills of the 21st century and contribute to the open society in education and make a difference through learning using the wikimedia project (wikipedia, wikicommons, wikidata, wikivoyage and many more). The project is set out looking at the strategic movement of the community by 2030.

Edupedia Project would look at partnering with various schools or institutions, lectures or tutors, Ghana Education Service and Managing Directors of various Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or Social Enterprise.

This project has come at a time where there is an ongoing reforms to the educational system of the country, thus from the Junior High School to all levels of educational institutions would be experiencing the use of digital tools. With this new reforms and the introduction of the Edupedia Project, it would enable capacity building and skill development among students of respective schools in the country.

Looking at the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number four (4), which enlightens as on Quality Education for all and how it can be leverage upon to make a difference is significant for the project.

What idea do you want to bring to the W&E Greenhouse?

Describe the context, theme, goals, strategies, duration of your proposed initiative. Be as detailed as possible.

In the first month of the project, letters or emails would be sent out to academic institution and Non-Governmental Organization that are under privileged in other for them to grant us access to train and introduce them to the world of Wikipedia Education or Open Education and how they can leverage on it using the resources and tools available to team. We would be collaborating with user groups in the community and also some stakeholders that would enable us get access to academic institution.

The team have decided to focus it’s resources on three (3) institution (Senior High School), these three institution would be allocate three month each for capacity building, skills development and many more, we would be looking at having a two (2) day training sessions maximum in three (3) month of an institution before we move on to the next institution. As we engage student, their teachers/tutors or lectures would also be engaged in those two days of training. We would empower them with resources that would enable them teach their student through the incorporation of wikipedia education or open education into their curriculum or class activity.

The reason why the team decided to have two day session of training for three months with various institution is to get student's to understand the project, increase their curiosity and also enable them contribute to the education project and the wikimedia community at large whiles their teachers are taught or brought up to speed on various modules of Open Education which they can incorporate into class activities like assignment,projects and many more .

As part of the Edupedia Project we would ensure that participants or student with their lectures are able to create an article of their institution or school and any articles of their choice. If the article of the school already exist they would have to update the page through editing.

The team is looking at incorporating QRpedia into various institutions we partner with. Thus using QR codes to provide easy access to quick academic related articles or information and other articles on wikipedia and its sister project. Also we would create plaques using qrcodes to provide information about the school, this would be readable by using the QR code scanner. We are looking at partnering John Cummings of which we would be consulting from concerning qrcodes in education.

Qrpedia In The Classroom Significance

• Using qrcodes in the class would be key for student in the class to enable them get access to open source knowledge.
• The student can use qrcodes for research when teachers provides them with the codes on the go.
• It can be used for edutainment thus using it to play educational games in the class to get student to understand a project.
• It would serve us a form of shortcut for student to access academic gallery on commons.
• It would also provide a source of extra help to struggling student through creation of audio content.
• It can be used for class test and assignment.

Video that show how Qrpedia would be useful to the Edupedia project is available here.

For student who are very underprivileged and are not able to afford smart phones for the use of qrpedia for quick information  can also use a feature phone or Yam Phones (in the Ghanaian context to be precise) thus using a phone without any internet connectivity or phones without no special feature.

Ussd code would enable student in the class get access to wikipedia or open source education or materials by dialing a short code eg (*515#) that would enable them get access to academic information on the go of which it would be much simpler for them in their academics work or projects.

USSDpedia In The Classroom Significance

• Much engaging, thus student would become focused in class.
• Creative, thus improves on the creative skills of students.
• Competitive, thus it enables students to be competitive in class.
• Understanding, thus students understand when they use the innovation.
• Safety, thus it prevent student from walking or trekking long distance to a café to do their assignment or accessing open knowledge.

Ussdpedia video for the Edupedia project is available here.

Partnership would also be made with Gustave Praekelt of the Praekelt Foundation.

Translat-a-thon would be introduced to the students in other for them to make tralations to focused languages such as the Ga and Twi wikipedia. In view of this languages teachers or lectures would guided or trained by the team on how to aid student make important contribution.

Participant of the project would be introduced to Wikidata. They would learn the modules and usage of wikidata through the creation of wikidata Items as a result of collaboration with other sister projects.

Photowalk session would be key for them, so in training the student,

we would introduce them to wikicommons where they can take and upload pictures on the platform through our photowalk session on campus and off-campus.

The team has also looked at adding kiwix , url shortner and wikipedia zero projects to our list of activities we would be undertaken under the education project. Thus installing kiwix on various computers in the school’s with computer labs and also teaching student how to use it. Url shortener would be introduced to them and how they can make good use of the shortner. They would also be educated on the wikipedia zero project and how it is used.

Furthermore the team has decided to add Klexikon to our project. This project is to target children at basic level. Thus to enable them read basic text content easily. We have not yet spoken with the team for the Klexikon project but we are looking forward to partner them in the future.

The team would also ensure that any activity we organize are made open to the society through videos and pictures on the Wikipedia Education social media page and other community pages as well.

Checkout the Edupedia Project Chart and Edupedia Infographic chart here which would explain our work infographically.

Proposed Schools

School that would be randomly selected for the project pilot are found here. In the future the team would leverage on skills, experience and partnerships we have gained and work with much more high institution like the universities and other academic spaces which are non-profit.

Proposed Time Lines

• Team would lunch the project in the month of July,2019.

• The Team would send letters to schools or intuition and stake holders to grant as access (1st July – 30th July, 2019).

• The team would be engaged with training on Wikimedia Education Project with the WMF representative whiles project lead takes the online management course (1st July,2019).

• There would be two days of training in each school, it could be a Friday & Saturday or Saturday and Sunday if the authorities give as the permission (right days).

• The time allocated for the training session would be four (4) hours, thus from 1:00pm – 4:00pm GMT. Depend on the authorities of the school.

• Each institution that we would be working with or have targeted would be having three (3) month allocation to them for training sessions.

• The team would have training session like Wikipedia In Education, Wikidata, Introduction to Kiwix, WikiCommons and Photowalk, Qrpedia, Wikipedia Zero, Klexikon and many more mixed with fun and excitement.

• Team start & complete unit 0 of the online course: 1st July,2019 – 2nd July,2019.

• Team start & complete unit 1 of the online course: 15th July,2019 - 12th September,2019.

• Team Break 1st from online course: 13th September,2019 – 29th September,2019.

• Team start & complete unit 2 of the online course: 30th September,2019 - 6th December,2019.

• Team Break 2nd from online course: 7th December,2019 – 5th January,2019.

• Team start & complete unit 3 of the online course: 6th January,2020 - 28th February,2020.

• Representative from the WMF would available for training the team: March – May,2020.

• Celebration of project successes: 2nd March, 2020 – 13th March, 2020.

• Impact report would be provide from 6th June,2020 – 6th July 2020.

Who would you engage in your initiative?

Describe the kind of relationships you have or plan to establish with potential partners in your community, both in your local Wikimedia community and education community.

• Partnerships is key for project development looking at the Sustainable Development Goals number seventeen (17). The team have an existing relationship with Wikimedia Ghana User Group (WMGU) and Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA). We would be looking forward to keep them engaged on our project and also consult them in case of any challenges.

• Partnership would be made with members of the global community who have made a difference using wikipedia tool. We would be looking forward to partner John Cummings (QRpedia), Felix Nartey and Klexicon lead Zico Van Dijk.

• Also partnership would be made locally with key stakeholders of education such Ghana Education Service (GES), Head of Schools, Teacher/Lectures and various NGO’s and Social Groups who would create an enabling environment for the team to work.
• Partnership would be made with key telcos (internet service providers) to enable us incorporate Qrpedia and Ussdpedia in the classroom which would for-filling the open community initiative which is the Wikipedia Zero project.

In terms of financial resources, how much money would you need to achieve your goals?

Indicate your local currency and describe how you would divide your budget for this project.

The team budget is available here.

How will you know your project has succeeded?

Describe potential evaluation plans, indicators, tools, etc. that will help you identify if you have achieved your goals

• The Edupedia project would be sustainable as result of partnership with various wikimedia community user group like Wikimedia Ghana User Group (WMGUG) , Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA) , Ghana Education Services, Institution , Lectures as a result of their contribution.

• Increase in wikipedia contribution and activities through the establishment of wikiclubs on campuses and also having qrcodes on various campuses us a result of increase in knowledge by the teachers and student.

• The project is in it’s pilot stage or start-up, the team is looking at scaling up by the end of the nine (9) month or in the future as a result of increase in feedback and contribution by students of various institution. Thus we would increase the number of school on board and doing more work with them through our outreach program that is going to empower them with the 21st century digital skills efficiently and effectively continuously.

What are the biggest challenges you foresee in the implementation of your idea and how would you address them?

Be as detailed as possible.

Challenges

• The biggest challenge we see in implementing the idea is the inadequate computers at schools.

• Instability of internet connection for various academic institution.

• Slow pace in approval of proposal letters by the schools when sent via mail or directly handed to the authorities.

• The unwillingness of teachers to partake in the training voluntarily.

Solutions

• The team is looking at getting a service provider whose internet connection is stable and does not buffer.

• We would also be looking at NGO who would support us with a number of laptops for capacity development in school.

• We plan to take contact of key members of any institution to ensure that the proposal is approved for us through follow up's.

• There would be a one-one session with the teacher where we would explain,direct and guide them in other to participate in the training program which is going to be of benefit to them and their student when they use wikitools in class.

Motivation

• The team believes that with introduction of the Edupedia project in academic institution, it is going to empower the student and tutors to make active contributions which would surely meet the strategic agenda of the community by 2030.

• Moreover the team is passionate about digital tools and how these tools is going to make a difference in the lives of the up and coming generation by providing them with digital skills for now and the future.

Why do Wikimedia projects belong in education?

Share your team’s perspectives on the value of Wikimedia projects in education.

• We believe that by the end of the project participant would leverage on the digital skills acquired and would be used to contribute to the open society.

• We are also looking at building a generation of multi-literate people that understand how both consume and contribute to open knowledge, creating a world where knowledge is available and equitable for everyone in the global space.

Why do you want to join the W&E Greenhouse?

Share your main reasons for applying, motivation, expectations, and what you would like to achieve by the end of this experience.

• The reason why my team and I joined the Wikimedia and Education Greenhouse project is because we have ideas and skills that would enable the Greenhouse to be sustainable and efficient to the global or multi-cultural community.

• We want to take advantage of the wikimedia education project management online course that would empower us with new set of skills and knowledge in the area of partnership, asking for additional resource in other to sustain the project.

• Another reason is because we want to increase the African voice, because we are underrepresented in the global space and more work needs to be done.

• Getting more females to be part of the project is key and important to us as a team.

Team

Who are the members of your team?

Indicate who will be the main focal point and the roles/responsibilities each member would have during the development of your project. Make sure your Wikimedia usernames are properly linked.

• Jesse Asiedu-Akrofi -Project Lead

Username: Jwale2, Email: jesseakrofi@gmail.com. He would be in charge of leading the project and also ensuring sustainability of the project. He is an experience wikimedian who has volunteered in many wikipedia project.

• Leonard Hagan -Technical Lead

Username:leooney Email:leooneygh@gmail.com. He would be in charge of running and maintaining various tech related activities for the project thus handling of webpages, internet accessibility and other technical development.

• Ivy Enyonam -Logistics Lead,

Email: ivyenyonam67@gmail.com. She would be in charge of ensuring that resources (food, hardware's, organization etc ) is available to the team.

Where is your team located?

Keep in mind that all team members should be in the same location for the on-site visits from the WMF Education team. These visits will be scheduled in advance in consultation with the selected team.

The team would be located at the capital city thus Accra (Ghana).

What languages does your team speak?

Please, keep in mind that for this first edition of the Greenhouse the main language of communication will be English.

The team is proficient in the English Language and other Local Languages.

Have any members of your team been involved in organizing other Wikimedia outreach initiatives?

Please, provide links to newsletters/photos/documentation if available.

Yes, We recently applied for our first ever grant for the project Shepedia. The project focus was to empower women of various disciplines with wikipedia tools. lead by User:Jwale2

Which members of your team will join the “Wikimedia & Education Project Management” online course?

Remember at least one member of your team needs to join and fully complete the online course.

Jesse Asiedu-Akrofi (Jwale2) the project lead would be in charge of completing the wikimedia education project management online course.

How did you learn about this opportunity?

We learnt about the opportunity on a facebook post by Wikimedia UK.

Get involved

Community notification

You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc.--> Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions.

• Open Foundation West Africa Mailing List

• Ghana Mailing List

Endorsements

Do you think this project should be selected to participate in the W&E Greenhouse? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).

• I edorse Edupedia because it is a project that is going to promote digitization and skills development among Ghanaian teachers and student.Myraclera (talk) 18:59, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• The project looks realistic looking at the teams partnership with the Ghana Education Service (GES), Heads of Schools, Teacher etc would be key for the project development. For me the project idea Edupedia is creative and innovative and I believed student would be empowered with 21st century digital skills through this project.Richest Kid (talk) 17:34, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Projects like this are required. The team working on this project are actively involved in the advancement of wikimedia projects and have the network and knowledge to deliver. Hence I endorse this project.Andrews Lartey (talk) 12:13, 30 April 2019 (UTC)

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