Brazil Program/Education program/Communication/Chamada a professores - segundo semestre de 2012/en

Português

0. To Universities Professors in Brazil

"Imagine a world where all humans share freely the sum of all knowledge. And we need your help"

This is the motto of the Wikipedia, free encyclopedia collaboratively and fifth most visited site in the world.

Sharing knowledge built and taught in universities with the world beyond classrooms walls is a dream of many professors who dedicate their lives to education.

Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit organization responsible for Wikipedia, is working in Brazil in partnership with universities, the Brazilian community and the Portuguese Wikipedia Community to develop a project called Wikipedia na Universidade, part of the Global Education Program, an international initiative under development in countries such as the United States of America, India and Egypt.

I. General Presentation

The project Wikipédia na Universidade aims at expanding the reach of the knowledge produced in universities by improving and creating Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia built collaboratively by volunteers around the world, whose content is available to anyone.

Throughout the first half of 2012, we developed a pilot project with the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of São Paulo (UNESP), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (Unirio) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), in partnership with professors from the fields of Physics, History, Public Policy and Social Sciences. Given the expansion of the program in the second half of 2012, the Wikimedia Foundation decided to open this call for professors, in order to select proposals that fit the purpose of the program and which may have support from Wikimedia Foundation.

II. Open Call

This open call is aimed at giving publicity to the project Wikipédia na Universidade and at inviting professors to engage in the Brazilian next phase of the project (during the second half of 2012).

The Foundation intends to establish contact with professors and select 8 courses through the submission of proposals from those interested in actively participating in the project.

This selection does not involve any transfer of funds between institutions. The Foundation will coordinate the program as a whole and provide institutional and technical support for the development of the activities, will provide know-how, and build connections between the academic and the Wikipedia communities.

III. How it works

The professor defines a set of activities involving the improvement or creation of encyclopedia articles at Portuguese Wikipedia, to be developed with students during the classes of the course. These activities may be mandatory or elective, but must be inserted organically into the discipline. Professors will be invited to take part in meetings with the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation in Brazil and training that will occur at the beginning of the semester.

Please note encyclopedia articles are different from academic articles, both in its purpose and language. Wikipedia, a collaborative project where anyone can edit, have rules and pillars:

1. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia
2. Wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view
3. Wikipedia is free content that anyone can edit, use, modify, and distribute
4. Editors should interact with each other in a respectful and civil manner
5. Wikipedia does not have firm rules

The Foundation will coordinate a set of actions for the project to succeed. We recruit and train ambassadors, experienced Wikipedians that teach students how to edit Wikipedia, which will provide support in person and online. Campus ambassadors teach students to edit Wikipedia and assist their efforts in the university, constant-in dialogue throughout the semester with professors and students. Online ambassadors take online questions and guide students in their activities throughout the editing process.

IV. Sending proposals

Proposals must provide information about the professor, the institution and the course planned for the next semester.

Please send your proposal through the following form (link).

V. Selection criteria

Wikimedia Foundation will rely on a few criteria for selecting proposals: suitability of the proposal to the purposes of the global program, the quality of the proposal (clarity, targets and objetives) as well our conditions to provide the necessary support for its implementation. For example, high quality proposals to be developed in places where Wikimedia Foundation couldn’t find qualified campus ambassadors to assist professors and students may not be selected.

• Appropriateness to the objectives of the program: student involvement in the collaborative construction of encyclopedia entries
• Quality of the proposal: clarity, feasibility and goals
• Resources: availability of resources to support the Wikimedia Foundation, the project is not restricted to the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro by definition. However, it should be noted that these states focus more Wikipedia contributors, which makes it feasible to provide the necessary structure for project success

The Foundation reserves the right to increase the number of selected if deemed feasible.