Grants:IdeaLab/Textbook Integration

Inspire campaign

Textbook Integration

Integrate with official textbooks with QR codes that link to wikipedia articles relevant to topic on the page.

idea creator• Nimahajan

this project needs...

volunteer

advisor

designer

created on09:18, 12 January 2018 (UTC)

Audience

Who are the people you want to introduce Wikipedia to?

Try to be as specific as possible about this group.
Age 10 and above

In what languages do they search for information, online or otherwise?

English

In what ways does this group communicate with each other?

This can include services and apps in social media, mailing lists, physical spaces like conferences or lectures, or at specific institutions like at a library.
Whatsapp

What are some reasons this group would use Wikipedia? How would they benefit from it, or what would they find useful?

Think about what they would be interested in reading and learning about; does Wikipedia provide better access to information this group cares about?
This age group students know how to use internet and can understand some level of english content as well.

Project idea

What language Wikipedia projects will you promote to new readers?

English

How will you communicate with new readers? Will you be communicating with them online, in-person, or both?

In person via school/college visits

Describe your idea to engage new readers. How might it be implemented? What will you tell people about Wikipedia?

Think about the steps that might involved to make this idea happen, and what you might teach people about your experience or others' experiences using Wikipedia.
1. Work with one of the local school/college and apply QR code stickers to student's books. These stickers will have encoded tiny URL that links to relevant topic on Wikipedia.

2. Demo students how to use those and educate them about mission of wikipedia.

3. Track engagement in later weeks to see how many visit the QR code link. Repeat visits can be used to track engagement.

4. If above experiment is successful, work with text book printers to modify newer editions of the books.

Other cheaper alternative would be to implement a new app with OCR. Students can just photo of any page of any book and wikipedia article related to that should come up.

How will you know if this project is successful? What are some outcomes that you can share after the project is completed?

If you’re not certain about how to respond to this question when starting your idea, you do not need to answer it right now. Campaign participants and Wikimedia Foundation staff can help you consider some options.
We can track how many page views come with QR code source.

Do you think you can implement this idea? What support do you need?

Do you need people with specific skills or resources to complete this idea? Are there any financial needs for this project? Do you need advising from Wikimedia Foundation staff?
Yes, I can try visiting local school, build demo app with tracking and apply stickers manually to begin with for 1 class of students.

Get Involved

About the idea creator

Senior Software Engineer working For Uber.

Endorsements

• Interesting idea, but still in a very nascent stage. Schools do not print books. So, mere coordination with schools will not get things done. Publishers print books but do that based on the guidelines set by school boards. So, publishers too do not have full freedom in this aspect. There is significant doubt among academicians/teachers about the authenticity of the information contained in Wikipedia. So, it would not be an easy job to convince them. Assuming that all these hurdles get crossed, the next aspect to consider is that Wikipedia is incomplete and articles on many important topics are still in stub or start level. Unless, they at least minimally worked upon, they are unlikely to be worth being integrated. The next issue is that the level of topic (based on chapter and topic hierarchy) that could include QR codes, would need to be defined. The terms in body text cannot be hyperlinked/wikilined in books unless they are online. This is a hurdle to consider. The internet and smartphone penetration is another factor to keep in mind. I do not see this idea to be viable in the existing scenario. Nevertheless, a taskforce could be formed to work upon the idea such that it can be made viable. Diptanshu💬 13:16, 19 January 2018 (UTC)

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