Wikipedia Education Program/News/20 August 2013

Welcome to the Wikipedia Education Program Update -- a newsletter from the Wikimedia Foundation about efforts to bring Wikipedia into higher education classrooms. The newsletter is released on the first and third Tuesday of each month. To be notified of the latest issue, add this page to your watchlist or email LiAnna Davis (ldaviswikimedia.org), the Wikipedia Education Program Communications Manager, to be added to the distribution list.

Wikimania pre-conference draws crowd

Nearly 30 Wikimedians gathered for a pre-conference at Wikimania focused on developing educational programs. Representing more than 20 countries, the participants discussed challenges, solutions, and plans for educational efforts in their countries. Representatives from Namibia, the U.K., Germany, and the Wikimedia Foundation led sessions on fears, best practices, challenges, working with institutions, reaching out to different target groups, and program evaluation, among other topics. Learn more about the pre-conference, including notes and photos from the event.

US, Canada programs prep for new term

The new term is upon us in the United States and Canada, and many professors and Ambassadors have already begun creating Course Pages on the MediaWiki education extension on the English Wikipedia. If you are a professor who plans to use Wikipedia in the classroom this term, please make sure you have created the page for your class. You may need to get in touch with a Wikipedia Education Program representative to receive the appropriate user rights, which you can request on the Education Noticeboard. You can also email jmathewsonwikimedia.org if you still need support in finalizing your assignment, finding an Ambassador, or creating your Course Page. Create your Course Page.

EduWiki Conference issues call for proposals

Wikimedia U.K. is hosting the second annual EduWiki Conference in Cardiff, Wales, on 1-2 November 2013. A call for proposals has been issued, and potential participants are encouraged to submit papers, presentations, provocations, and posters about Wikipedia's use in education, both as a teaching tool and as a source. The deadline for proposals is 26 August. Read the call for proposals.