Hi everyone, if you are interested in being a Wikipedia Ambassador in the United States or Canada, or if you have a question or comment in general about the U.S. or Canada Education Program, you're almost at the right place - just post a message on the user talk page of my colleague Jami Mathewson. If you're interested in being a Wikipedia Ambassador in India, Egypt, or another country, please post a message here on my talk page, and I will respond as soon as possible. If you prefer, you can contact me via email: alin [at] wikimedia [dot] org.

Thank you!
Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 17:19, 6 September 2011 (UTC)Reply


For Fall 2010

edit

Georgia Institute of Technology

edit

Hi Annie, I would love to be an ambassador! I work at a start-up biotech company on the campus. The campus is in Atlanta, Georgia. Celtaxsys

Campus ambassadors at Syracuse University

edit

Annie,

I was contacted regarding Syracuse University (my alma mater), but I actually live closest to (in order) the State University of New York at New Paltz and Vassar College, if those institutions are options. Daniel Case (talk) 02:32, 25 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Daniel, thanks very much for your interest in the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador role. We're looking for Wikipedians who can provide face-to-face support for students and professors at Syracuse University for about 3-5 hours a week; would that be a possibility for you, considering your geographical location and access to transportation? If it is we would definitely love to talk with you further about the Campus Ambassador role (and if not we would still like to chat with you more about other potential ways for us to cooperate). Please let me know. Thanks! Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 18:55, 25 June 2010 (UTC)Reply
Well, SU (I passed it on a trip just this weekend, so it's fresh in my mind) is still a 175-mile drive one way, so I'm not sure I could do it even once a week. But I'm definitely interested in this sort of thing were it to be at an institution closer to home. Daniel Case (talk) 17:36, 30 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

I sent an email regarding this, and am more interested now seeing a bit of info about this, above. (Hi Daniel, by the way!) --doncram (talk) 06:58, 28 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

Campus ambassadors

edit

I am interested in the possibility of becoming a campus ambassador, but I wanted more information about what is expected of ambassadors and what people you are looking for. I just want to make sure I don't commit to anything that I can't do (because I am very busy in real life these days). Remember (talk) 15:17, 30 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

If you ever expand to America's version of the Arctic (aka the Upper Peninsula of Michigan), I'd try being an ambassador at Northern Michigan University. —Ed (talkmajestic titan) 21:30, 30 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

I might be interested in this. I work near Harvard and have a university appointment as a fellow. David.Kane (talk) 00:30, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

I'd like to learn more about this program; I'm in Washington, D.C., a lot. --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 00:46, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hello I live right outside of Washington, D.C., and would be interested to help out at Georgetown and/or George Washington. Thanks. --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 00:49, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

George Mason would be a more convenient pit stop for me (though I have a degree from GW Law). I can't commit a lot of time, but I can make some once in a while. bd2412 T 03:12, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi, I am interested in becoming a campus ambassador. I am sending you a message by email with the name of my university and the area I am. --Ragib (talk) 03:42, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Extremely interested. I live near both GW and Georgetown universities, and have worked on various articles for Georgetown. I would often argue the merits and potential of Wikipedia with professors there, so I'd love to get a chance to train some. I have a flexible schedule and would be proud to be involved.-- Patrick {oѺ} 04:17, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Alin. I am interested in being a campus ambassador at either GW or Georgetown. I live in D.C. and have experience as a university teaching assistant at my alma mater. My work on Wikipedia is well-known and I would be honored to have the opportunity to combine two of my interests. I would also like to endorse Patrick's candidacy (above) as another potential ambassador; we have worked together in the past and I have no doubt in his passion, skills and abilities. Best, epicAdam(talk) 16:51, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

I'm interested in serving as campus ambassador for Harvard. I live in Boston, so getting to Harvard is no problem. I've been a Wikipedian since March 2005 and am always proselytizing. I'd love to help new participants better understand the project and start contributing. Let me know what I can do to help. DickClarkMises (talk) 16:49, 2 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

I would like to participate as a campus ambassador at Georgetown or GWU. I work at a national non-profit in downtown DC and am available during the day or evening. Argos'Dad 20:54, 5 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi -- I can help with ambassador duties at Princeton - my office is an hour or so north of the campus, so 3-5 hours/week might be a bit of a stretch - but if some of the work can be done online, it shouldn't be an issue.DoctorJoeE (talk) 12:59, 6 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Annie, I am would like to be a Campus Ambassador for Winona State University. I would like to train others on the Winona State campus to be ambassadors if possible. User:Erhall (talk) 1, February 2010 —Preceding undated comment added 03:30, 2 February 2011 (UTC).Reply

IU ambassador

edit

Annie, I would be willing to assist if you could give me more specific information. You can respond at my talk or e-mail me (the "M" in my signature.) —Justin (koavf)TCM01:11, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Interested. I am already involved with a few campus-based topic-oriented Wikis that could be integrated with the English Wikipedia (as well as translated into other languages). --Vihelik (talk) 03:28, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

(I'm guessing that "IU" stands for "Indiana University") I'm not interested in serving as a Campus Ambassador. But you (and others) might be interested in knowing that I'm trying to do similar work but at a different level. ElKevbo (talk) 17:36, 2 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hello. I am interested in learning more about this project and volunteering. Thanks. --Bburk (talk) 15:50, 5 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Princeton ambassadors and Wikimedia NYC

edit

The Wikimedia New York City chapter would like to be involved with the Princeton effort. We have a number of experienced volunteers, including a retired Princeton biology librarian, and have given Wikipedia at the Library presentations at a number of institutions, including recently the Princeton Theological Library.--Pharos (talk) 04:23, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

fwiw, I know the social science library people there pretty well, also, when you get around to including Princeton, please get in touch with me. DGG ( talk ) 04:53, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Syracuse/Princeton Campus Advisor

edit

Hi Annie, I am an experienced Wikimedian that is interested in becoming an advisor/ambassador, I have been to Princeton and seen Syracuse, but I attended Rutgers SOE. I have an ME, but tend to write about historical subjects or local, so I feel like I would be comfortable teaching students about writing on any subject. I am the founder of (still in its infancy) Hudson County Task Force. I love teaching people or, in the least, telling them about WP. I'm relatively young, 25 and live about 50 minutes away from Princeton, or an hour train ride, and across the Hudson from Syracuse, so either would be a good commute.
Would this likely be a weekend thing? I work full time. Any other information about this program you have, I would love to hear about. - Theornamentalist (talk) 14:27, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Annie,
All of that sounds wonderful to me, but unfortunately having the ability to be there during office hours sometimes would be rather difficult to say yes to. I could certainly do weekends, and maybe an afterwork session, but not during. Who knows, maybe I'll be unemployed by then! I am still interested in this and would love to at least come for training (there are a lot of colleges in NJ) if you'd have it. I guess if for some reason you can't fill the three spots for Princeton, then maybe I could be the weekend advisor or something. - Theornamentalist (talk) 10:47, 2 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hi Theornamentalist, let me check and get back to you about attending the training. Either way we can definitely keep you updated regarding Campus Ambassador recruitment and regarding the Public Policy Initiative in general. I'll add you to our database.
Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 21:46, 5 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
Thank you Annie, I look forward to hearing from you - Theornamentalist (talk) 16:28, 7 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

re George Washington University & Georgetown Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors

edit

Dear Annie, I am a Wikipedian committed to the ideal of free knowledge espoused by WP. I live in just outside northwest DC (i.e. relatively easy commutting distance to both Georgetown and George Washington University). I have degrees in biochemistry, currently work in the biotech field, and enjoy teaching. I'd be interested to get more information on the requirements of the Campus Ambassador position. I should mention that I'm currently employed full-time, but have a somewhat flexible schedule which I might be able to work 3-5 hours of ambassadorship into. Many thanks for your time and attention, NickCT (talk) 15:03, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hey Annie, re your message; first, apologies for a late response. I was enjoying an extended Independence day vacation. Secondly, while I'm really interested becoming more active with Wikimedia, I'm a little hesitant to move forward, as I worry the time requirements for the ambassadorship may be prohibitive. Can you give me some idea of how flexible scheduling will be for this position? In other words, is it something that I can commit mostly nights and weekends to, or is it something that will require me to be on campus in the middle of the day every other weekday? Many thanks, NickCT (talk) 14:24, 6 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hi Nick, to answer your questions: the primary task of the Campus Ambassadors will be to provide face-to-face support, and most of this will happen during the weekdays (when professors and students are more likely to be on campus). Time coordination really depends on when the class takes place and on the schedule of the participating professors and students. Because Campus Ambassadors will also be expected to give in-class presentations, they will also need to be physically present on campus during a few (maybe 3-4) of the class sessions, and the class sessions might take place in the morning, afternoon, or evening depending on university scheduling. So I guess the short answer is that a significant portion of the work will happen during the day on the weekdays... although there will be weeks during the semester when Campus Ambassadors will spend only a couple of hours on a particular day on campus (and there will be other, busier weeks when they will spend many days a week on campus). I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have other questions!
Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 23:44, 7 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hey Annie, Thanks for the detailed response. I think I may have to sit tight for now. While it does sound like an exciting opportunity, it doesn't seem like there will be a great deal of flexibility in scheduling. Given my current employment situation, I'm not sure I'd be able to give the position the time and attention it would deserve.
I will get back to you if anything changes. Best of luck finding a candidate. NickCT (talk) 02:21, 8 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Response from Remember

edit

Unfortunately, 3-5 hours a week is too much time for me to commit to right now because my schedule is just too hectic. Thus, I assume I could not be a Campus Ambassador. Nevertheless, let me know if there are others ways to help out that would require less of a commitment. Remember (talk) 20:36, 2 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Remember, thanks for your interest, and we'll let you know if other opportunities emerge for getting involved with Wikipedia on university campuses.
Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 21:49, 5 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Harvard University campus ambassador

edit

I might be interested in being a campus ambassador at Harvard. I live in Cambridge, near the University, where I worked for many years. I'm now retired. Paul August 10:42, 5 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

I am also interested in being a campus ambassador at Harvard. I live near and work at the medical school, recently finished my PhD. Although I don't contribute as much lately I've done a lot of work with Wikipedia, including the Genetics page and helping create an offline version that is distributed on OLPC's XO laptops distributed to Peru. I don't have enough time to commute regularly to the main campus, but I would like to be involved and would especially like to help with any efforts associated with the Medical School area. --Madeleine 21:08, 6 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
I'm interested too - I live and work just a couple blocks away from Harvard. I've given talks at Harvard and MIT before, and would enjoy spreading the word about Wikipedia and teaching people how to use it. Let me know if I can help. Mojei (talk) 18:21, 7 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Assessment Drive Challenge: WikiProject U.S. Public Policy

edit

The first tagging and assessment drive challenge is starting now for WikiProject United States Public Policy. If you'd like to participate, start using the new assessment system and the project banner to tag and rate articles that are related to U.S. public policy. There's even a small prize for whoever does the most assessment this week.--Sross (Public Policy) (talk) 17:48, 6 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

GW Gtown ambassador

edit

hi, i'm interested if my other committments work out, i live in alexandria, missed the DC meetup at GW (sorry). Accotink2 (talk) 21:44, 6 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

GWU ambassador

edit

Please consider me, also, as an ambassador for GWU. Doc2234 (talk) 03:09, 7 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

George Washington University / Georgetown University Campus Ambassador

edit

Thank you for the invitation but I am unable to help. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 01:12, 9 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Welcome to Wikipedia; have some cookies!

edit
 
Welcome!

Hello, Alin (Public Policy), and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages you might find helpful:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, please see our help pages, and if you can't find what you are looking for there, please feel free to leave me a message or place "{{helpme}}" on your talk page and someone will drop by to help. --Geniac (talk) 22:33, 22 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Princeton University

edit

Hey Annie,
Were you able to find ambassadors for Princeton? Please get back to me, thank you :) - Theornamentalist (talk) 23:50, 5 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Theornamentalist, sorry for the delayed response. We're still working out the details with Princeton, so we haven't yet recruited any official Campus Ambassadors there. Are you still available and willing to help on the weekends (on a more informal basis)? And has there been any changes to your availabilities? Thanks! Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 19:38, 16 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Mentor button

edit

So how'd it work? Suggestions for improving the edit message? Should it load up some example text?--Sage Ross - Online Faciliator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 21:38, 16 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Annie

edit

Glad to be here, I believe this is the start of something very good for the Politics of Piracy, DECAL, UCB, Wikimedia, Wikipedia, and, well, a lot of others! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattsenate (talkcontribs) 09:08, 3 October 2010 (UTC)Reply

Thanks!

edit

Good to hear from you, thanks for the DYK note :). Kaushik Iyer (talk) 21:13, 12 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

For Spring 2011

edit

Good idea

edit

Just saying it's a good idea to tell students how many people viewed their article. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 15:33, 7 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Thanks, Piotr! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 19:46, 8 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

geonotices

edit

I put up the geonotices, set to run for two weeks. I combined the Berkeley and SF ones, because the geoip database isn't accurate to target them separately. I described the region for each one; see MediaWiki:Geonotice.js. Let me know if you want the wording changed.--ragesoss (WMF) (talk) 00:49, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Thanks Sage!!! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 03:09, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

UC Berkeley

edit

Hi, I'm a grad student in computer science at UC Berkeley and long-time administrator on the English Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. I'd be happy to help out with the ambassador effort in any way that I can. Let me know if I can help. Dcoetzee 08:08, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

While I'm not an admin like Dcoetzee, I've been around the English Wikipedia for a while and know my way around most the systems here, so I'd also be glad to help out if I can. Kaushik Iyer (talk) 19:39, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi, I graduated from UC Berkeley, and am interested in helping out on this project. I'm living in SF now, and is taking classes around the bay area in order to prepare for the entry into a dental school, so I'll be able to help out by going to UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University (SFSU), and/or Cal State Eastbay (Hayward). Please let me know what I can do to help. EkmanLi (talk) 09:48, 23 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Berkeley or Stanford or Graduate Theological Union

edit

Recently graduated from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. Would love to help out. The Graduate Theological Union would be a good place to recruit editors on philosophy and religion articles.--WickerGuy (talk) 18:27, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

UC San Diego

edit

Hello, I'm a student at UCSD and a long time sysop on the English Wikipedia. Although I'm currently inactive, I'll have more time during the winter and spring quarters; I'm happy to help in any way I can. Let me know. Best, FASTILY (TALK) 19:40, 15 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Moo U?

edit

Hi, the message popped up for me regarding MSU in Bozeman, MT. Curious as to time commitment. I no longer live in Bozeman, but am not too far away. Montanabw(talk) 03:29, 16 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

USC

edit

I'm interested in being a campus ambassador at my school, USC. I've been an editor for five years, an admin for three years, and a bureaucrat here for two, so I should be well-equipped with enough experience to share here. bibliomaniac15 04:59, 16 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

I'd like to apply too

edit

Maybe at UCSD or CSUSM... some where else in my area would be fine too. Do I need to send my résumé to someone?--Dark Charles 22:52, 16 November 2010 (UTC)

University of Montana

edit

I had a message on about Bozeman, MT, where Montana State University is located, which is about 6? hours away. But I live outside Missoula, MT, where the University of Montana is located. I'd be interested in doing something here, but not in Bozeman. Dlabtot (talk) 03:55, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

The software did that to me, too. I guess they think there's one U in the whole state! Seems they'll work with us wherever we are, though! Ask Alin to contact you!  ;-) (official GrizCat/Bobly) Montanabw(talk) 04:21, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
this is all I have to say: 69-35-5 Dlabtot (talk) 04:53, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
Can't argue, but when you've gone to both schools, you have to tread carefully! And once you factor in the rodeo teams, it starts to even out a little! LOL! Montanabw(talk) 21:00, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
No, I do not know of any professors at University of Montana who would want to incorporate Wikipedia-editing into their classes. Dlabtot (talk) 20:26, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hi Dlabtot: you're welcome to apply for the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador role either way. However, there is a training that will take place in January that is mandatory for all Campus Ambassadors, and unfortunately we can only promise travel funds (to go to the training) for Campus Ambassadors who are already paired up with a public policy -related class. We might be able to provide travel funds for Campus Ambassadors who are not paired up too, but we're not sure at this point. The closest training to you will most likely be in the San Francisco Bay Area or somewhere in the Midwest. With that in mind, if you are still interested in being a Campus Ambassador, please let me know what your email address is so I can send you an application. Thanks! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 21:22, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
Alin, two questions, related to your answer above: 1) What if you ARE the instructor for the class and interested in incorporating WP editing into the class (as was done by Jimmy Butler for his high school kids)? Can a person apply to this program if acting in that capacity? 2) How broad is your definition of "public policy"? i.e. if the institution in question has no political science or sociology offerings, but rather the WP component would be incorporated into a survey class within the broader field of liberal arts? Montanabw(talk) 18:04, 19 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
Was talk page snooping but from what we have seen so far at the Steering Committee:
1) Instructors are welcome to attend Campus Ambassador training and support us and are more than welcome to take advantage of the Online Ambassador program if they want to run a class. If the class is related to public policy, then you can get a Campus Ambassador or two trained with funding from the initiative.
2) We are more interested that the students have the ability to write public policy articles well from a policy perspective, less what course/program they are actually in. Our definition of policy is pretty broad, but definitely needs to be policy related (so a topic that has policy implications). For example, the courses at JMU are more about Science Policy in a Integrated Science program and the second for next semester is a Copy Editing Course where the students will be required to do well written technical writing on policy topics.
Sadads (talk) 18:35, 19 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
Hi Montanabw, thanks for your questions. Sadads answered them well, but just to reiterate and add a few more points:
1) We would definitely also love to chat with you if you are an instructor interested in incorporating Wikipedia-editing into your class. The process is, of course, different for instructors than for Campus Ambassadors. For instructors, let's set up a phone call and talk about the class in more detail. Please let me know if you're interested, so we can schedule the call, hopefully sometime soon.
2) We define "public policy" broadly. For example, classes from Sociology, Political Science, Information Science, Media Studies, Environmental Science, and other departments could qualify as well. The main criterion there is that students in the class will be editing Wikipedia articles about United States public policy, which could include articles about pieces of legislation, court cases, political figures, political/social organizations, relations with other countries, and a variety of other topics. If this criterion is met, and if the Wikipedia assignments follow a set of course-design guidelines we've created (which I can go over with you on the phone call), we'll provide the full range of support resources we've developed: printed materials, online materials, Campus Ambassadors, and Online Ambassadors. If these criteria are not met, we're still more than happy to work with you and support you; due to limited resources, however, we'll only be able to promise you the online support resources. Of course, if the criteria are not met but there happens to be a trained and available Campus Ambassador in your geographical area, that person can also help out your class.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks.
Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 01:23, 21 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

College of San Mateo, Cañada College, Notre Dame de Namur

edit

College of San Mateo and Cañada College are community colleges in San Mateo County. Notre Dame de Namur is a four-year college in Belmont, CA (also in San Mateo County). I have been on the English Wikipedia for 6 years. I have been an admin although I am not one at this time. --Richard S (talk) 07:29, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Richard! We haven't yet communicated with any professor from the colleges you mentioned about the Public Policy Initiative, but we would still love to chat with you, if you know particular professors there whom you think would be interested or if you're able and willing to help reach out to professors there. If this sounds like something you're interested in, please let me know what your email address is so I can provide more info and also send you a Campus Ambassador application?
Thanks!
Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 01:30, 21 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Annie: You sent me an invitation to be a Campus Ambassador at USF (Univ. of San Francisco), but I now live and work in Belmont (although, as a native, I still consider myself a San Franciscan). The time commitment required by commuting to USF to help would be too much of a sacrifice for me. CSM and Notre Dame are both close to my home, so if and when Wikipedia needs another Campus Ambassador there, I am willing and able (after some training). My e-mail address is sffrog@cesols.com. My personal website is grant.cesols.com, and my business websites are www.cesols.com and www.costeffective.us. --SFFrog (talk) 22:58, 16 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

New York City area

edit

OK, where would we be doing it this term? It might be closer to home. Daniel Case (talk) 15:52, 19 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Daniel, we're talking with a professor from New York University who is interested in joining the Public Policy Initiative in the spring semester. He hasn't yet committed, though. We'll also be working with two professors at Syracuse University. Those are the only instructors in the New York area so far. Would you be able and willing to help out at these schools in the spring? Or, do you know any other professors in the NY region whom you think would be interested, or are you willing to help reach out to other professors about the Public Policy Initiative? If so, please let me know what your email address is so I can provide more info and also send you a Campus Ambassador application. Let me know, too, if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 01:35, 21 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Merritt College

edit

I'm a program assistant in the Microscopy Program at Merritt College in Oakland, CA. As it happens, I'm planning an activity for next semester that incorporates contributions to Wikipedia, especially needed microphotography. I am interested in the activities related to being a Wikipedia Ambassador, though I fear that I might not be able to have time for some of the commitments listed, particularly the three-day training. Peter G Werner (talk) 07:41, 23 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi Peter, thank you for your interest in the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador role. Could you tell me a little more about your plan to incorporate Wikipedia contributions next semester? It sounds very interesting and relevant and I would love to learn more.
Being able to commit 3-5 hours a week is a major requirement for the Campus Ambassador role, because the professors working with us really depend on Campus Ambassadors throughout the semester to help their students out with Wikipedia questions. The training (which will most likely be two days) is also mandatory, because it ensures that all Campus Ambassadors are completely fluent with their role and are on the same page vis-a-vis Wikipedia skills and teaching skills. Please let us know if you feel that you cannot meet these requirements in spring 2011, and we'll keep you in mind when we recruit for Campus Ambassadors for future academic terms.
Thank you!
Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 19:39, 27 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Monterey Bay, California

edit

Not sure you have any contacts at these, but I am near Cabrillo College, University of California at Santa Cruz and California State University at Monterey Bay. Might also be able to help at "south bay" schools like SJSU or Santa Clara, but do not have contacts of my own. I will send an email with more info. W Nowicki (talk) 18:58, 23 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Merry Christmas!

edit
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

/ƒETCHCOMMS/ 05:14, 19 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

Invitation to join WikiProject United States

edit
 

Hello, Alin (WMF)! WikiProject United States, an outreach effort supporting development of United States related articles in Wikipedia, has recently been restarted after a long period of inactivity. As a user who has shown an interest in United States related topics we wanted to invite you to join us in developing content relating to the United States. If you are interested please add your Username and area of interest to the members page here. Thank you!!!

--Kumioko (talk) 02:07, 4 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

D.C. Ambassador Training

edit

Hi! I'm looking forward to being trained by you this weekend! Henni2me (talk) 05:07, 4 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

I will also be attending the training session this weekend. I look forward to this experience, I think there's a lot that we can learn and covey to others about the Wiki world! Mulforel (talk) 00:12, 7 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hello!

edit

Hi Annie!
I am looking forward to meeting you and everyone else tomorrow! I am so excited to learn more about everything being a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador entails. See you in the morning! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lisadforeman (talkcontribs) 02:32, 8 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Louisiana State University

edit

LSU Ambassadors

edit

I will be participating in the Southern Region Wikipedia Campus Ambassador training. I look forward to the wealth of knowledge I'll obtain! Dylanstaley (talk) 04:08, 9 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Annie. I'll be seeing you tomorrow at LSU. Neoglyph (talk) 04:37, 13 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Re: ASA Annual Meeting 2011

edit

I think it is a great idea, and incidentally, yesterday I sent an email to CITASA (ASA's section) listerv about this idea. However, as I noted in the email, I have little experience in dealing with ASA bureaucracy and as a grad student, I have little pull in the organization. I'd love to help, but we need input from somebody who knows how to actually make things happen within the ASA. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 22:36, 11 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Certainly. If you'd like me to to forward any message from you to the list, I'd gladly do so. For the record: CITASA home page, section chair (inc. his contact information). In a day or two, if there is no activity in the list, perhaps an email to the chair would be useful? --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 03:01, 12 January 2011 (UTC)Reply
Yes, I can certainly send it. Regarding the T&L section, I offered them my assistance regarding teaching with Wikis a while ago. They said they'll get back to me... didn't hear anything from them since, however. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 07:16, 12 January 2011 (UTC)Reply


Annie, you left a nice message on my talk page back on 11 January. I apologize for my late response -- that was just a week after I had heart surgery, and I haven't felt strong enough to deal with mail until now. To answer your questions and comments:

  1. I am on the ASA panel organized by the Mathematical Sociology Section (it doesn't have a title yet). The theme is contributions to formal sociology from other disciplines, such as physics, economics, math, biology, and computer science. I am representing mathematics on the panel — I am a professor of applied math who specializes in applications in the social sciences.
  2. If I weren't so far behind with work, I would love to organize a panel or roundtable on Wikipedia's role in sociology. It's a great idea, and I could do a good job of organizing it, but at this moment I cannot in good conscience undertake the additional commitment of time and effort. BTW, one has to start at least a year in advance to successfully organize a panel on a new idea. Maybe we should simply start planning now for the 2012 ASA conference.
  3. At the moment I teach at the graduate level only. In my department, we have many professors and graduate students who contribute frequently to Wikipedia. I don't know if you have noticed, but the mathematical articles in WP have been dramatically improved over the past couple of years, and now constitute an irreplaceable asset for the worldwide mathematical community. You might seriously think about a panel on Wikipedia Mathematics for the American Mathematical Society (mostly research) and/or the Mathematical Association of America (mostly teachers).

Anyway, those are some thoughts. Thanks for writing! —Aetheling (talk) 18:34, 28 January 2011 (UTC) (Loren Cobb).Reply

Meeting

edit

Hello Annie, I look forward to meeting you at the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador training in Baton Rouge. B.J.Carmichael (talk) 22:44, 11 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hey Annie, I am currently stuck in the Atlanta airport, but thing as looking up and I should be in Baton Rouge soon. Can't wait to see you in Baton Rouge. Hec7 (talk) 22:55, 12 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Speedy deletion nomination of Wikipedia:Campus Ambassadors/Wiki University (Test)

edit
 

If this is the first article that you have created, you may want to read the guide to writing your first article.

You may want to consider using the Article Wizard to help you create articles.

Thank you for experimenting with Wikipedia. Your test worked, and the page that you created has been or soon will be deleted. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you want to do. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hang on}} to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion, or "db", tag; if no such tag exists, then the page is no longer a speedy delete candidate and adding a hang-on tag is unnecessary), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the page meets the criterion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the page that would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. If the page is deleted, you can contact one of these administrators to request that the administrator userfy the page or email a copy to you. Mhiji 23:04, 12 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Question

edit
 
Hello, Alin (WMF). You have new messages at Fschulenburg (Public Policy)'s talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
Basket of Puppies 03:55, 14 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

New Block for Campus Ambassadors

edit

I create a new block for Campus Ambassadors that you can add to your user page.
Lsukari (talk) 01:37, 15 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

≫⊗



Thanks BasketofPuppies. We will all use yours so that we are consistent. I will remove the template I made. When I asked if there was one, none of my trainers knew about it yet. But it was good training to learn how to create one. Lsukari (talk) 13:44, 16 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hey Lsukari, I thought that a more general userbox would be good as it seems the CA program will evolve beyond the public policy scope at some point. I think there can be several userboxes and I'm not married to any particular one, but I am gleeful that you like mine. :) Basket of Puppies 17:09, 16 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Question, possibly a stupid one

edit

Hi Annie, I'm with the Polytechnic of Namibia. I've been designing a course on Information Competence which includes a module on Wikipedia, and I've been involved teaching this module in 2010, see Wikipedia:School_and_university_projects/Polytechnic_of_Namibia. We had problems with teacher readiness to deliver the Wikipedia module and as a result I will run a train-the-trainer program in April 2011.

My question is: It looks pretty much like I am the de facto Campus Ambassador but I see that this role requires training and an application--how would you suggest I go ahead? It is highly unlikely that I'll be able to travel to Wikimania. --Pgallert (talk) 14:04, 21 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

University of San Francisco

edit

You posted a message on my talk page re being an Ambassador to USF. I am interested in learning more. USF campus isn't that far from me, and I'm a fan of the Jesuits :-) I actually work at UC Berkeley, so would be happy to be of service in that community too. I'll read up more on the ambassador program, and wait for your response. Erielhonan 06:52, 27 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Re: ASA Annual Meeting 2011

edit

It's too late to get a session this year, I'll try to get it for 2012. I will enquire about a roundtable which was a possibility. Overall, as I expected, lots of bureaucracy to go through, and while few people expressed interest, it's hardly a rush to help out :/ --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 20:01, 27 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Yes, I am trying to organize a professional wiki-meetup, see here. Just a thought, but perhaps we could revitalize some WikiProjects by suggesting and helping to organize such professional wiki-meetups, that could also attract local Wikipedians (see this), attracting more professionals, helping to establish regional meetups, and such? --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 22:53, 27 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 28 January 2011

edit
 




This is the first issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program newsletter. Please read it! It has important information about the the current wave of classes, instructions and advice, and other news about the ambassador program.





Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 00:30, 29 January 2011 (UTC) Reply


Training

edit

Hi Annie, I've completed most of the basic training activities. User:lspiro —Preceding undated comment added 21:04, 31 January 2011 (UTC).Reply

Editing Fridays article for 11 February 2011

edit
--Guerillero | My Talk 01:55, 11 February 2011 (UTC)Reply

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 13 February 2011

edit
 




This is the second issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed.



  • Userboxes and profiles - Add an ambassador userbox to your page, and make sure you've added your mentor profile!
  • Be a coordinating ambassador - Pick and class and make sure no students fall through the cracks.
  • New screencasts - Short videos on watchlists and a number of other topics may be useful to students.
  • Updates from Campus Ambassadors - Ambassadors are starting to report on classroom experiences, both on-wiki and on the Google Group.
  • Other news - There's a new on-wiki application for being an Online Ambassador, and Editing Friday #2 is today!
  • Things you can do - This is just a sample; if you're eager for something to do, there's plenty more.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 18:20, 11 February 2011 (UTC) Reply

Editing Fridays article for 24 February 2011

edit
--Guerillero | My Talk 00:29, 25 February 2011 (UTC)Reply

Editing Fridays article for 25 March

edit
--Guerillero | My Talk 17:35, 21 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 21 March 2011

edit
 




This is the third issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed.



Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 22:20, 21 March 2011 (UTC) Reply

Regional Ambassadors

edit

Hey. Once you come to a stable proposal of the regions I am willing do make a map of it. cheers --Guerillero | My Talk 17:12, 23 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

 
do you like the look of this? --Guerillero | My Talk 00:30, 24 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Ball State University

edit

Hi Annie, I'm one of Wikipedia's friendly Online Ambassadors. I've identified another university that is working with various coursework projects on Wikipedia. I've welcomed the professor, Dr. Newbold, and invited him to become involved in the Campus Ambassador Program. I've provided him with a link to the program page, along with your email address. I also gave Sage a head's up. Let me know if you have any questions. Cind.amuse 22:36, 29 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Thank you very much for connecting us with this professor! I really appreciate it. I'll be on the lookout for emails/messages from the professor. Please let us know, too, if you hear from the class. Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 18:09, 30 March 2011 (UTC)Reply


For India

edit

If you are based in India, please post your message(s) in this section.

Bangalore, or anywhere else really

edit

Hey Annie! I am MikeLynch, from Bangalore, and am very eager to get this program started in India. I have already made plans to organise similar initiatives, and some of them are already on track. I would really like some help to get this started in a big way. Regards, Yes Michael?Talk 19:19, 30 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Pune

edit

Hi Annie! I am an online Ambassador-in-training although I haven't been very active for a while due to RL issues. I am living in Pune and would like to help in whatever way possible with your Campus Ambassador pilot in Pune. FYI I just completed my studies from Symbiosis Law School and should be able to help introduce the programme there.--  Forty two  16:12, 15 April 2011 (UTC)Reply

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 22 April 2011

edit
 




This is the fourth issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed.



Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 16:30, 22 April 2011 (UTC) Reply

new class using Wikipedia at Washington College

edit

Hi Annie - I noticed a discussion on AN/I about a new class using Wikipedia-based assignments at Washington College that is not doing so in a policy happy fashion, so I figured I'd leave you a note about it in case you guys hadn't seen it and wanted to contact them: Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#University_project_creating_new.2C_deliberate_POV_forks Kevin (talk) 00:02, 13 May 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Kevin, thanks so much for bringing this to our attention! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 22:12, 13 May 2011 (UTC)Reply

For Fall 2011

edit

Hi everyone, please post a message here if you are interested in being a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador. I will respond as soon as possible on your talk page. If you prefer, you can contact me via email: alin [at] wikimedia [dot] org. We are now looking for Campus Ambassadors in both the United States and in India, although we also welcome interest from other parts of the world.

Thank you!
Annie Lin, Campus Team Coordinator
Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk)

I live in Augusta, Georgia and would be happy to participate provided there was some need within a close proximity of my domicile. Particularly I wish Paine college would participate for they are convenient to my location, as well as Augusta State University. I could be of limited assistance for Georgia or Georgia Tech or even Clemson. Please advise if further consideration is appropriate. My76Strat talk 01:35, 20 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

University of Toronto

edit

Hi Annie, I'm going to get the ball rolling here by creating a section for the new University of Toronto Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors! I'm sure we're all looking forward to the training this week, and to working with Wikimedia and our respective Faculties to help integrate Wikipedia into the classroom. What a great way to engage with our students by using Information and Communications Technologies of particular interest to them!

--Michaelh.dick (talk) 01:29, 16 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Thanks Michael! I look forward to meeting you in Toronto! (I think you'll be at the training, right? Regardless, I look forward to working with you!) Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 01:34, 16 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi!! Timothycck (talk) 20:42, 16 August 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Timothycck (talkcontribs) 14:31, 16 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Right behind you Tim! Nice to meet you Annie, see you at the Toronto training tomorrow =) Hanandomloge (talk) 20:03, 16 August 2011 (UTC)Reply
I look forward to meeting everyone tomorrow (actually, considering the current time... today)!
--Gabby.resch (talk) 06:05, 17 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Thanks!

edit

Thanks, Annie! You probably picked it because I like cheeseburgers. It has everything on it, I hope? Bob the WikipediaN (talkcontribs) 23:52, 9 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Of course it has everything on it! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 23:53, 9 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

A kitten for you!

edit
 

For being such a great person, always taking care of all the Ambassdors

Sadads (talk) 01:02, 10 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

A kitten for you!

edit
 

Annie, thanks for the note and the brownie! Unfortunately I have no comment concerning this "reputation" of which you speak. In fact, this is the first time such a reputation has come to my attention. ;)

Also, you beat me to the punch! I've been planning on sending you some WikiLove for a while now, but hadn't gotten my thoughts together. Allow me to boomerang this "thanks" around to you for all your hard work, inspiration, and eloquence! This project is wrought of your labor and we all stand in your debt!

Kittens are an easy choice because they are oh-so-cute.

Mattsenate (talk) 23:26, 10 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

A kitten for you!

edit
 

i DO

Jordan Jamieson Kyser (talk) 21:35, 15 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

A kitten for you!

edit
 

thanks for the cheeseburger! here's a wikilove cat in some kind of bowl.

Amcook (talk) 22:24, 8 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

A cup of tea for you!

edit
  Yay Annie! -- LiAnna Davis (WMF) (talk) 22:31, 8 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

NNU Project

edit

Many thanks for your link and support! I am going through the materials presently. Please keep us in view so that we can profit by your advice and expertise. We are all very heartened by the degree of help we have experienced thusfar. Njnu-ban-xueshenghao (talk) 00:34, 20 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

University of Ohio

edit
 
crystals
Hello Annie, there seems to be some kind of class project happening at University of Ohio, in the Athens area. They have made a whole series of requests at WP:Drawing board and made some drafts of articles at AFC or on their user pages. This happened at 14:33 UTC on 21 September 2011 in a burst of several minutes. I listed the users at User:Graeme Bartlett/UOhio. So far I have only replied on the Drawing board and not contacted them on their talk pages to find out what the class is or who the instructor is. Cindamuse suggested that you should be informed. Since there seems to be a trend of piccies here, I will offer you a picture some crocoite crystals with bonus dundasite which I am using as a theme for my online ambassador edits. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 09:17, 25 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

Leadership board

edit

Hey, is there any way that we could build a leadership board for this semester, based off of this page? I know that it would be fun for the students to see how they have done recently as compared to other students, but Frank hasn't been active recently so I thought you might know something about the idea. Thanks! Kevin Rutherford (talk) 04:25, 2 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Kevin! Thanks for the message. Yes, we would certainly like to get the leaderboard updated and up-and-running for this semester too. I will check with Frank about the status of this and will get back to you. In the meantime, this other tool that Frank developed could also be helpful in finding out the on-wiki activity level for each class in the program. Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 16:53, 2 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
I'm assuming that that tool works, but I do not have access to that tool so I cannot see what it looks like. Thanks for the help, though! Kevin Rutherford (talk) 00:41, 3 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
Yes... that's because I linked it incorrectly (the copying-and-pasting of links went faulty, clearly, heh). Sorry about that. I've fixed the link now, so please click on "this other tool" above again and it should work now! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 18:07, 3 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Education program question

edit

Annie

There was a discussion which you may have read on the ambassador mailing list (also reposted here (in the collapsed box)), that I'd like to follow up on. I contributed a comment to that discussion suggesting that the USEP had grown to the point where further expansion might be harmful, and that we needed to focus on improving the mechanics of working with classes, rather than on growth. I haven't seen a direct response to that, and I'm not quite sure where to post a request for further discussion. I considered posting to the outreach Wiki, http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Global_Education_Program, but that wouldn't get much visibility here on en-wiki, and since the USEP really only affects en-wiki I think it would be best to have that discussion on this wiki. I also considered posting a note to one of the steering committee, but though I agree it needs to be part of a steering committee discussion, I think there needs to be an on-wiki discussion too that involves the non-USEP editing community. After all, part of the issue is the extent to which the USEP may impact the rest of the community; see this exchange between an instructor and a very experienced Wikipedia editor, for example.

After thinking about it I decided that the reason I was unsure where to post my question was because there is no current forum that includes as participants all the stakeholders in the USEP. So what I'm looking for is a forum which is viewed by both WMF USEP staff, the ambassador community, and the wider editing community, where some discussion can take place on the best way to achieve the goals of the USEP, maximize the benefit to the encyclopedia, and minimize friction with the editing community. Perhaps this question itself is something that could be discussed with a wider group; after all, it might be that others don't think it's necessary to raise this topic in a broad forum at the moment.

Let me know what you think.

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 14:19, 6 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Mike! Thanks a lot for this message. I think this is a very important subject that needs to be discussed by various stakeholders. I have crafted some of my thoughts on this page, which is also where I propose (in another section on that page) that we have our future discussions about the U.S. Education Program (essentially the "forum" that you mentioned, which I think is a very good thing to have). I'd appreciate your feedback as well as other people's feedback on what I put on that page. Thanks! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 20:55, 7 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
With all due respect Annie, I feel that some crucial issues discussed by the volunteers on that page are still not being addressed by the WMF. Is there a particular reason for this? How can we encourage the EP organisers to view the problems from the standpoint of the community members who do the cleaning up? How can we accelerate the development by the WMF of some badly needed tools and a more experienced volunteer NPP force.Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 08:15, 14 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
Kudpung, please remember that the Foundation can operate in parallel. While the tech team can work on tools, and the community team can work on NPP issues, the education team can work on other aspects of the program. Tools are not part of the Global Education Program team's remit. They're part of tech's. Tech is actively working that side, as you well know, since you're a part of those discussions. Philippe Beaudette, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 18:38, 14 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
Hi Kudpung! Thanks for your note. As Philippe indicated, the Global Education Program team (which includes myself, LiAnna, Frank, and a few other people) has basically no connection to past and current developments with the NPP. I understand that the education pilot in Pune has added a lot of workload onto the community and that this unfortunately coincided with the recent NPP issues; we apologize for this, thank the community sincerely for help during this period, and have started doing thorough analysis of what happened and how to move forward with the education program in India (this analysis will continue for the months to come - our goal is to err on the side of being overly thorough rather than rushed in this process). However, our team has practically nothing to do with NPP besides what I mentioned above. The tech team is in charge of that, and our team isn't working with them on this. If you want more information about who you could contact on the tech team to talk about NPP issues, my colleague LiAnna Davis just left a message on the talk page of the U.S. Education Program. Thanks! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 22:16, 14 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

IEP next steps

edit

Annie, I was surprised to see here that there are plans not only to continue at Pune but even to expand to another campus. I am sure that this is all still under discussion, but speaking as someone who has put quite a few hours into the IEP cleanup already, and who expects to have to do many more, I would be very disappointed if the program continues in anything like its current form. I understand the post mortem is continuing, and I hope that the revised IEP plan for next semester will be on a scale that won't cause anything like the current impact, but because of the scale of the additional work caused I think a great many people will be very upset if there is not a very clear dialogue with the community about your plans before you commit to the IEP's next incarnation. I've argued that the community should be more involved with the discussions about the future of the USEP, as you know; but as I've said in those discussions I think the USEP is in pretty good shape and if you decide to go in a different direction to the one I've suggested I think it will be OK. For the IEP the stakes are much higher and I would really like to see these discussions take place on-wiki, at least simultaneously with the mailing list discussions. Thanks -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 12:08, 16 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Mike, thank you for the message. I really appreciate your input, and agree with your points pretty much entirely. The local India staff team members (Hisham, Nitika) and some of the San Francisco -based Global Education staff team members (myself included) had a long, in-depth meeting yesterday to talk about the future of the education program in India. One thing we talked about at length is whether to continue any in-class activities next semester (spring 2012), or instead to focus in the spring on doing post-mortem analysis and wait until after spring to start working with any classes. As you said, there are big risks to running in-class activities before we have adequate time to make a thorough analysis of what exactly needs to be changed to make the program in India more successful, and we discussed these risks at length during our meeting yesterday, with many people arguing for waiting until at least June before working with any more classes. We decided that Hisham and Nitika will make the call (soon) on whether or not any in-class activities will take place next semester based on these discussions, since they are the people who run the program in India. So we'll have more exact updates on that afterward, but rest assured that we share your concerns 100%!
Everyone was also in agreement that the post-mortem analysis and the planning process absolutely need to be a dialogue between the Wikimedia Foundation and the community. One of the mistakes we made this past semester was that we did not involve the community sufficiently in the planning, and we definitely want to change that. Various community members have been involved in the Pune pilot (thank you all for your help) and have a lot of knowledge at this point about what the outcomes and challenges of the pilot were and how those affected the larger English Wikipedia, so I think any analysis and planning process in the coming months will be inadequate if these community members are not an active part of the conversation. We'll like to use a variety of communication channels for the analysis/planning since each channel has its pro's and con's. So, be on the lookout for that soon as well! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 17:42, 16 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
I feel the USEP has a lot of experience to draw on, and I'm glad these issues are being discussed. It does seem to be difficult to expect the WMF staff to have the leeway to perform their jobs while simultaneously expecting them to consult with the impacted community at every turn. I don't think I'd find your job easy. Please do keep the communication coming, but I hope you can see from the USEP talk page, in comments like the recent one from SandyGeorgia, a very experienced community member, that the GEP has some collateral impact on our diminishing pool of experienced editors, and that simply communicating information is not going to suffice. If the USEP is seen as responsive to the needs of all its stakeholders I think it will continue to prosper. Thanks for the work you're putting in on this. I look forward to seeing more engagement. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 03:16, 17 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Yet another class

edit

Hi, there is yet another class showing up as evidenced by https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=Talk:Tropical_rainforest&diff=prev&oldid=461130364. User:Gazelle13 is the user. There are no problems so far! But just a heads up in case you want to investigate what this is. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:16, 17 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the heads-up on this, Graeme! I've left some notes for User:Gazelle13. Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 19:48, 18 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

A new user User talk:Houstonians appears to be trying to complete a class assignment in mineralogy. Perhaps you could do some checking and find out more, and offer the user some guidance. I've seen other similar attempts recently which follow the pattern (will try to find 'em again). It seems a recurring pattern over the past couple of years ... some Texas college class, but I don't remember the details ... have some digging to do. Vsmith (talk) 12:34, 25 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Also, User talk:Nickmead88 who seems to be from the same class considering their edit organisation. Vsmith (talk) 12:50, 25 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
And User talk:Wang7333 ... same edit structure, likely same class. Vsmith (talk) 13:00, 25 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
See November 2011 additions section in talk:Perovskite where the user identifies the class and school. Instructor Dr. Jonathan Snow of the University of Houston, Texas. Hope you can work with Dr. Snow on this. Let me know if I can be of assistance. Thanks, Vsmith (talk) 23:59, 25 November 2011 (UTC)Reply
Thanks a lot for letting me know about this, Vsmith! I'll reach out to my colleague Jami Mathewson (who is the main staff person supporting the U.S. Education Program) now so she can get in contact with this professor. Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 22:42, 27 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hello Annie Lin, asked for a noticeboard on Wikipedia:Village pump (idea lab)#Clumsy classes Cheers --Chris.urs-o (talk) 08:26, 26 November 2011 (UTC)Reply

A cup of coffee for you!

edit
  The closest thing I can give you virtually to Philz... :) -- LiAnna Davis (WMF) (talk) 20:04, 9 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

Signpost mention

edit

Hello Annie, just stopping by in case you might be interested to let you know your name was dropped in an opinion essay in this week's Signpost. Regards, Skomorokh 18:18, 13 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

RE: Wikipedia Online Ambassadors

edit

Hello Annie. The Wikipedians i listed at Frank talk page have shown an interest in being Ambassadors, and confirmed the number of students they may help, but actually i didn't contact properly each of them about being Ambassadors and what they have to do next, as i preferred to leave this part for you and Frank. For contacting the Ambassadors, of course, go ahead, but i am not sure who of them can speak English and who does not; i can contact those ones in Arabic if you like, or give them a primary clarifications about their work, for example. Both talk pages and Email are common to be used for such a purposes in Arabic Wikipedia, so it does not matter as i guess (all of them have their email option enabled, excepting Khalid). By the way, thank you so much for your efforts to develop Arabic Wikipedia. Best regards! --aad_Dira (talk) 15:51, 28 December 2011 (UTC).Reply

Sure, why not? just give me the message as soon as you write it, and i will translate it into Arabic and leave it on their talk pages --aad_Dira (talk) 19:10, 28 December 2011 (UTC).Reply
Hello again. Of course, i will translate the message right now and leave it on their talk pages, as i promised before. About being Ambassador, yes i am interested, of course. I read the page, and i have now a better imagination for what i have to do. Well, the time of the session does not matter, i am rarely busy and can do that at any time you like, just tell me about the date of the session before a few days so i can be sure that the time is good for me --aad_Dira (talk) 12:57, 3 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
Hi Annie. I see that Ciphers, of course, as well as Amr have already contacted you, but the other three (Abou nawwaf, Raed and Khalid) have contacted me in Arabic instead, so i will tell you their responses. Raed will not be able to participate in the session nor help any students before 4th February because of his final exams, but he will become an Ambassador must likely. Abou nawwaf have confirmed that he will become an Ambassador, and it does not seems that he have problems with the date of the session, but he will be able to help students only at night hours because of his work. Khalid have confirmed his willing to become an Ambassador, and late January will be good time for him as well, also he have mentioned in this page that he will help about 10 students --aad_Dira (talk) 13:47, 4 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
Hello Annie. I am sorry first of being late in answering your last message, as i was thinking about a way to gather more Ambassadors, but i could not find something good, and i don't have a certain Wikipedians in my mind who may be interested in being Ambassadors. I have noted your contact in the last few days of several Arabic editors, and i see that the result was great with the number of Ambassadors increased too times, but i guess that i was not able to help in this because, although Arabic Wikipedia community is small, i don't know well must of the Wikipedians you have contacted excepting Antime, so i would not know if they are interested in being Ambassadors. About the online orientation session, i am not sure if i can lead it, because i know nothing so far about the session itself! Anyway, the time must be after 18th January because it is the date when my exams end, and after that i can do it at any time. Best regards! --aad_Dira (talk) 06:54, 14 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
Well, it is okay for me. As i told you before, i am rarely busy and any time will be good, the problem is just in the time when i am sleeping, and that is usually from around 20 to nearly 7 or 8 in UTC, all times between those will be good for me --aad_Dira (talk) 18:54, 19 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
The time is good for me, for both the orientation and the Skype call, and my Skype username is "Abbad_Dira" --aad_Dira (talk) 15:05, 23 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
Hello again Annie. Sorry, but because of an unexpected condition i will not be able to be online until around 19:00 UTC, i am Sorry again, i hope the time is still good for you --aad_Dira (talk) 17:06, 24 January 2012 (UTC).Reply
No problem, the time is still good for me --aad_Dira (talk) 10:40, 25 January 2012 (UTC).Reply

What do we do next? I'm in Boston. MaynardClark (talk)

Cairo Pilot

edit

Hi Annie, I just saw the blog post about you guys preparing to launch a Cairo Pilot for the EP and I wanted to drop you a note saying that it looks promising! It looks like the organizers have really, truly taken on board some of the recommendations made by people who dealt with the IEP issues. The small pilot size and the choice to have students focus on their native-language Wikipedia, rather than the English one, are great steps and will, I hope, take care of a lot of the pitfalls the IEP ran into. I wish you guys lots of luck! A fluffernutter is a sandwich! (talk) 20:40, 31 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

Thanks a lot Fluffernutter! Yes, a lot of the plans for the Cairo pilot are based heavily on the suggestions and feedback that various community members have given about the Pune pilot. We're trying our best to avoid the problems faced in Pune. Thanks a lot for your support; I really appreciate it! Happy New Year! Annie Lin (Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 07:45, 2 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue One - Recent news from the Teahouse

edit

Hi! Welcome to the first edition of The Tea Leaf, the official newsletter of the Teahouse!

 
Spring has sprung! Stop by the Teahouse for a cup of tea under the cherry blossoms.
  • Metrics are out from week one. Week one showed that the need for Teahouse hosts to invite new editors to the Teahouse is urgent for this pilot period. It also showed that emailing new users invitations is a powerful tool, with new editors responding more to emails than to talk page templates. We also learned that the customized database reports created for the Teahouse have the highest return rate of participation by invitees. Check out the metrics here and see how you can help with inviting in our Invitation Guide.
  • A refreshed "Your hosts" page encourages experienced Wikipedians to learn about the Teahouse and participate. With community input, the Teahouse has updated the Your hosts page which details the host roles within the Teahouse pilot and the importance that hosts play in providing a friendly, special experience not always found on other welcome/help spaces on Wikipedia. It also explains how Teahouse hosts are important regarding metrics reporting during this pilot. Are you an experienced editor who wants to help out? Take a look at the new page today and start learning about the hosts tasks and how you can participate!
  • Introduce yourself and meet new guests at the Teahouse. Take the time to welcome and get to know the latest guests at the Teahouse. New & experienced editors to Wikipedia can add a brief infobox about themselves and get to know one another with direct links to userpages. Drop off some wikilove to these editors today, they'll surely be happy to feel the wikilove!

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here. Sarah (talk) 15:57, 9 March 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Two

edit

Hi! Welcome to the second edition of The Tea Leaf, the official newsletter of the Teahouse!

  • Teahouse celebrates one month of being open! This first month has drawn a lot of community interest to the Teahouse. Hosts & community members have been working with the project team to improve the project in many ways including creating scripts to make inviting easier, exploring mediation processes for troubling guests, and best practices regarding mentoring for new editors who visit the Teahouse.
 
Springtime means fresh tea leaves...
  • First month metrics report an average of 30 new editors visiting the Teahouse each week. Approximately 30 new editors participate in the Teahouse each week, by way of asking questions and making guest profiles. An average of six new questions and four new profiles are made each day. We'd love to hear your ideas about how we can spread the word about the Teahouse to more new editors.
  • Teahouse has many regulars. Like any great teahouse, our Teahouse has a 61% return rate of guests, who come back to ask additional questions and to also help answer others' questions. Return guests cite the speedy response rate of hosts and the friendly, easy to understand responses by the hosts and other participants as the main reasons for coming back for another cup o' tea!
  • Early metrics on retention. It's still too early to draw conclusions about the Teahouse's impact on new editor retention, but, early data shows that 38% of new editors who participate at the Teahouse are still actively editing Wikipedia 2-4 weeks later, this is compared with 7% from a control group of uninvited new editors who showed similar first day editing activity. Additional metrics can be found on the Teahouse metrics page.
  • Nine new hosts welcomed to the Teahouse. Nine new hosts have been welcomed to the Teahouse during month one: Chicocvenancio, Cullen328, Hallows AG, Jeffwang, Mono, Tony1, Worm That Turned, Writ Keeper, and Nathan2055. Welcome to the Teahouse gang, folks!
  • Say hello to the new guests at the Teahouse. Take the time to welcome and get to know the latest guests at the Teahouse. Drop off some wikilove to these editors today, as being welcomed by experienced editors is a really nice way to make new editors feel welcome.

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here. -- Sarah (talk) 21:35, 5 April 2012 (UTC)Reply

Good news from Western Carolina University

edit

Hey Annie, I just wanted to give you a heads up that my Campus Ambassadoring at Western Carolina has been going really well this semester. Chris Cooper and I have been working hard all semester with a fresh batch of graduate students! Tonight, we will be having almost 30 of them submit or dramatically improve articles in the public policy sector. i don't think we made a page this year, so I just wanted to give you a heads up on this good news. I'll be sure to let you know how many of them get on the DKY status and/or articles if you would like? Hope all is well over in the offices! Kasey Kayz911 (talk) 21:59, 9 April 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Four

edit

Hi! Welcome to the fourth issue of The Tea Leaf, the official newsletter for the Teahouse!

  • Teahouse pilot wraps up after 13 weeks After being piloted on English Wikipedia starting in February, the Teahouse wrapped up its pilot period on May 27, 2012. We expect this is just the beginning for the Teahouse and hope the project will continue to grow in the months to come!

Thank you and congratulations to all of the community members who participated - and continue to participate!

  • What you've all been waiting for: Teahouse Pilot Report is released! We look forward to your feedback on the methodology and outcomes of this pilot project.
  • ....and if a pilot report wasn't enough, the Teahouse Pilot Metrics Report is out too! Dive into the numbers and survey results to learn about the impact the Teahouse has made on English Wikipedia.
  • Teahouse shows positive impact on new editor retention and engagement
 
  • 409 new editors participated during the entire pilot period, with about 40 new editors participating in the Teahouse per week.
  • Two weeks after participating, 33% of Teahouse guests are still active on Wikipedia, as opposed to 11% of a similar control group.
  • New editors who participated in the Teahouse edit 10x the number of articles, make 7x more global edits, and 2x as much of their content survives on Wikipedia compared to the control group.
  • Women participate in the Teahouse 28% of Teahouse participants were women, up from 9% of editors on Wikipedia in general, good news for this project which aimed to have impact on the gender gap too - but still lots to be done here!
  • New opportunities await for the Teahouse in phase two as the Teahouse team and Wikipedia community examine ways to improve, scale, and sustain the project. Opportunities for future work include:
  • Automating or semi-automating systems such as invites, metrics and archiving
  • Experimenting with more ways for new editors to discover the Teahouse
  • Building out the social and peer-to-peer aspects further, including exploring ways to make answering questions easier, creating more ways for new editors to help each other and for all participants to acknowledge each other's efforts
  • Growing volunteer capacity, continuing to transfer Teahouse administration tasks to volunteers whenever possible, and looking for new ways to make maintenance and participation easier for everyone.
  • Want to know how you can lend a hand at the Teahouse? Become a host! Learn more about what makes the Teahouse different than other help spaces on Wikipedia and see how you can help new editors by visiting here.
  • Say hello to the new guests at the Teahouse. Take the time to welcome and get to know the latest guests at the Teahouse. Drop off some wikilove to these editors today, as being welcomed by experienced editors is really encouraging to new Wikipedians.

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here. Sarah (talk) 16:37, 13 June 2012 (UTC)Reply

Some bubble tea for you!

edit
  yummmm. Lfcampos (talk) 19:44, 25 June 2012 (UTC)Reply

WikiWomen's Luncheon at Wikimania 2012

edit
WikiWomen's Luncheon at Wikimania - You are invited!
Are you a woman attending Wikimania 2012? If so, join us on Saturday, July 14, for the annual WikiWomen's Luncheon (fka WikiChix Lunch) This event is for any women attending Wikimania. Pick up your lunch, compliments of Wikimania, and join us at 1:30pm in the Grand Ballroom for a lively facilitated discussion hosted by Sue Gardner. We look forward to seeing you there. Please sign up here.
Sarah (talk) 14:26, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
Reply

A barnstar for you!

edit
  The Real Life Barnstar
This is wonderful. Thanks for the good work on the Wikipedia Education Program in Egypt! Pine 20:13, 10 July 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Five

edit
 
Stop by for a tasty glass of wiki-iced tea at the Teahouse, today!

Hi! Welcome to the fifth edition of The Tea Leaf, the official newsletter of the Teahouse!

  • Guest activity increased in July. Questions are up from an average of 36 per week in June to 43 per week in July, and guest profile creation has also increased. This is likely a result of the automatic invite experiments we started near the end of month, which seeks to lessen the burden on hosts and other volunteer who manually invite editors. During the last week of July, questions doubled in the Teahouse! (But don't let that deter you from inviting editors to the Teahouse, please, there are still lots of new editors who haven't found Teahouse yet.)
  • More Teahouse hosts than ever. We had 12 new hosts sign up to participate at the Teahouse! We now have 35 hosts volunteering at the Teahouse. Feel free to stop by and see them all here.
  • Phase two update: Host sprint. In August, the Teahouse team plans to improve the host experience by developing a simpler new-host creation process, a better way of surfacing active hosts, and a host lounge renovation. Take a look at the plan and weigh in here.
  • New Teahouse guest barnstar is awarded to first recipient: Charlie Inks. Using the Teahouse barnstar designed by Heatherawalls, hosts hajatvrc and Ryan Vesey created the new Teahouse Guest Barnstar. The first recipient is Charlie Inks, for her boldness in asking questions at the Teahouse. Check out the award in action here.
  • Teahouse was a hot topic at Wikimania! The Teahouse was a hot topic at Wikimania this past month, where editor retention and interface design was heavily discussed. Sarah and Jonathan presented the Teahouse during the Wikimedia Fellowships panel. Slides can be viewed here. A lunch was also held at Wikimania for Teahouse hosts.

As always, thanks for supporting the Teahouse project! Stop by and visit us today!

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here. SarahStierch (talk) 08:23, 4 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Six

edit

Hi! Welcome to the sixth edition of The Tea Leaf, the official newsletter of the Teahouse!

  • Teahouse serves over 700 new editors in six months on Wikipedia! Since February 27, 741 new editors have participated at the Teahouse. The Q&A board and the guest intro pages are more active than ever.
 
A lovely little teahouse nestled in Germany from Wiki Loves Monuments
  • Automatic invites are doing the trick: 50% more new editors visiting each week. Ever since HostBot's automated invite trial phase began we've seen a boost in new editor participation. Automating a baseline set of invitations also allows Teahouse hosts to focus on serving hot cups of help to guests, instead of spending countless hours inviting.
  • Guests to the Teahouse continue to edit more & interact more with other community members than non-Teahouse guests according to six month metrics. Teahouse guests make more than twice the article edits and edit more talk pages than other new editors.
  • New host process implemented which encourages anyone to get started as a Teahouse host in a few easy steps. Stop by the hosts page and become a Teahouse host today!
  • Host lounge renovations nearing completion. Working closely with Teahouse hosts, we've made some major renovations to the Teahouse Host Lounge - the main hangout and resource space for hosts. Learn more about the improvements here.

As always, thanks for supporting the Teahouse project! Stop by and visit us today!

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here. EdwardsBot (talk) 00:05, 6 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

A bowl of strawberries for you!

edit
  Yum! Strawberries are delicious, and you are awesome. -- LiAnna Davis (WMF) (talk) 18:13, 30 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

Merry Christmas!

edit

Hello Alin! Wishing you a very Happy Merry Christmas :) TheGeneralUser (talk) 23:47, 25 December 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Seven

edit
 
Check out the Teahouse Easter Egg Badge, awarded for helpful suggestions about improving the Teahouse.
 
Check out the Teahouse Genie Badge, awarded for solving issues on the Teahouse Wishlist.

Hello again! We have some neat updates about the Teahouse:

You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To remove yourself from receiving future newsletters, please remove your username here

Thanks again! Ocaasi 02:22, 9 February 2013 (UTC)Reply

Farewell - A barnstar for you!

edit
  The Real Life Barnstar
Thank you so much for 'training' and teaching me. Your presentation skills are amazing! Good Luck for future! Hope to catch you soon in San Fransisco.
Keep Exploring, Keep Inspiring! AbhiSuryawanshi (talk) 21:33, 19 February 2013 (UTC)Reply

A barnstar for you!

edit
  The Barnstar of Diligence
I wish you multitude of happiness and health always in your life :) Faris El-Gwely (talk) 06:09, 21 February 2013 (UTC)Reply

The Tea Leaf - Issue Seven (special Birthday recap)

edit
 
A celebratory cupcake from the Teahouse Birthday Badge

It's been a full year since the Teahouse opened, and as we're reflecting on what's been accomplished, we wanted to celebrate with you.

Teahouse guests and hosts are sharing their stories in a new blog post about the project.

1 year statistics for Teahouse visitors compared to invited non-visitors from the pilot:

Metric Control group Teahouse group Contrast
Average retention (weeks with at least 1 edit) 5.02 weeks 8.57 weeks 1.7x retention
Average number of articles edited 58.7 articles 116.9 edits 2.0x articles edited
Average talk page edits 36.5 edits 85.6 edits 2.4x talk page edits
Average article space edits 129.6 edits 360.4 edits 2.8x article edits
Average total edits (all namespaces) 182.1 edits 532.4 edits 2.9x total edits

Over the past year almost 2000 questions have been asked and answered, 669 editors have introduced themselves, 1670 guests have been served, 867 experienced Wikipedians have participated in the project, and 137 have served as hosts. Read more project analysis in our CSCW 2013 paper

Last month January was our most active month so far! 78 profiles were created, 46 active hosts answered 263 questions, and 11 new hosts joined the project.

Come by the Teahouse to share a cup of tea and enjoy a Birthday Cupcake! Happy Birthday to the Teahouse and thank you for a year's worth of interest and support :-)

-- Ocaasi and the rest of the Teahouse Team 20:49, 27 February 2013 (UTC)Reply
You are receiving The Tea Leaf after expressing interest or participating in the Teahouse! To add or remove yourself for receiving future newsletters, please update the list here

File:Wikipedia CampusAmb App.pdf listed for discussion

edit
 
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Wikipedia CampusAmb App.pdf, has been listed at Wikipedia:Files for discussion. Please see the discussion to see why it has been listed (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry). Feel free to add your opinion on the matter below the nomination. Thank you. Cloudbound (talk) 20:01, 10 June 2016 (UTC)Reply