Community Development/WikiLearn/Identifying and Addressing Harassment Online
Overview edit
The Identifying and Addressing Online Harassment course (part of the Community Development Online Learning Pilot) will be hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. This course will support administrators and other volunteers with advanced user rights to build practices to respond to on and off-wiki harassment. Participants will learn how to identify types of harassment and follow work processes to address harassment in a way that reduces harms and encourages empathy.
Due to the nature of the pilot, we are only able to admit up to 40 participants. This limited number of participants will allow our small staff to better deliver the program and ensure participants are provided with adequate support.
Application are now Closed
Target Audience: edit
The target audience consists of Administrators, Functionaries, and users with Advanced User Rights. The applicants should have an active interest in the Anti-Harassment challenges that the Wikimedia movement face in our mission to provide safe and civil spaces and foster innovative and resilient community self governance practices.
Timeline: edit
Applications open: December 15, 2020
Application close: January 14, 2021
Successful applicants notified: January 18, 2021
Onboard call: January 25, 2021
Course begins: February 1, 2021
Online Course Details edit
- This course will be held over an eight week period with the last session scheduled the week of March 29, 2021 and combines self-guided and live sessions to ensure participants have the opportunity to work on their own as well with other participants.
- Sessions will be scheduled weekly with regular office hours during the week for participants to ask questions and/or collaborate with their peers.
- Session 7 and 8 will be scheduled two weeks apart to allow for the adequate time to finish the final assignment.
Course Participation edit
We ask that all interested applicants be sure they are able to make the full commitment however we recognize that may not always be possible, especially with the ongoing pandemic. If you are unable to continue with the course, our team can help find solutions to ensure you can complete the course material.
All efforts will be made to ensure that scheduled live sessions will be time-zone friendly but with the global spread of potential applicants, that may not always be possible.
Course Outline edit
| Session | Topic | Learning Outcome |
| 1 | What is Harassment? | Participants will be able to identify different types of harassment prevalent in the Wikimedia movement and explore the concept of "anti-harassment" as practice. |
| 2 | The Impact of Harassment | Participants will be able to understand the multiple ways online harassment can impact volunteers in the Wikimedia movement. |
| 3 | Responding to Harassment p. 1: Policies and Processes | Participants will be able to identify the process flow to address online harassment in their project roles. |
| 4 | Responding to Harassment p.2: Communication Fundamentals | Participants will be able to recognize the importance and apply empathy to future communications when addressing online harassment. |
| 5 | Closing Cases | Participants will learn how to close online harassment cases utilizing new practices that encourage harm reduction and empathy. |
| 6 | Anti-Harassment Best Practices in Online Communities | Guest lecturer (tba) will provide an overview of how online communities can employ better anti-harassment practices. |
| 7 | Building an Action Plan | Participants will begin developing an action plan on how they will address future online harassment in their project roles. |
| 8 | Final Presentation and Feedback | Participants will share their action plans and gain feedback from cohort participants |
The course coordinator for this course is Simona Ramkisson.
Feel free to ask questions on the talk page or reach out to comdevteam@wikimedia.org