Grants:PEG/WM AR/Wikipedia en el aula/Report

Template:Grant report/Final/Submitted before january 2012

Project Goal

Our goal is to help and encourage teachers to use Wikipedia in a responsible and creative way and sharing existing experiencies.

Description of actual activities

Designing and publishing the booklet Wikipedia en el aula (available in .pdf and printed version). We made 3000 copies of the booklet which is being distributed freely in every event we participate.

Disseminating the booklet among different communities, specially teachers, professors and students of different levels.

Participating in conferences, events and meetings to promote the adoption and using of Wikipedia en el Aula as a teaching and learning material.

Meetings with education authorities at different levels (national, regional and local level).

What lessons were learned that could help others succeed in similar projects?

The use of Wikipedia in different educational levels by students and teachers is unavoidable. Wikipedia is already in the classroom, and many teachers are afraid of its credibility and its educational potential. Everyday we hear a lot of doubts and uncertainties about how trustworthy Wikipedia is.

This booklet is a useful tool to promote the debate around Wikipedia in the classroom, to think about the best possible strategies for using it. But, the booklet also helps us promote the participation in Wikipedia from the Classroom, which is one of the main goals of this project.

So, having this kind of tool is really useful for every Wikimedia community affording doubts and uncertainties around Wikipedia and it's potential in the education field.

What impact did the project have on WMF mission goals of Increased Reach, Increased Quality, Increased Credibility, Increased and Diversified Participation?

Public Policy

Cecilia Sagol, Educ.ar (Argentine official education and ICTs portal maintained by the Ministry of Education at National Level) introduces the "Wikipedia en el aula" Project during the celebration of Wikipedia 10 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As a result of many meetings with Educ.ar, the national education Ministry office for ICTs in Education, they developed the website called "Wikipedia en el Aula", which includes our booklet in .pdf and other contributions from relevant education experts and scholars in Argentina. This is the main output of this project, because it helps us increase credibility, and promotes our initiatives right from the educational authorities at national level.

We also signed a cooperation agreement with Buenos Aires Ministry of Education. Buenos Aires is the largest province in Argentina, and as a consequence of that, it has the biggest educational community of the country. Through this cooperation agreement, we aim to disseminate Wikipedia in the Classroom around the whole educational system in the Province. We participated in an event together with the Minister of Education of Argentina, Alberto Sileoni, and the main educational authorities of Buenos Aires, like Lic. Mario Oporto, Director of Schools and Cultures of Buenos Aires.

More info about this (in Spanish) available at Wikimedia Argentina website.

Dissemination

Wikipedia en el Aula was also spread through "Monitor Magazine", the main educational magazine in Argentina publishe by the Ministry of Education at Nacional Level. The impact of this magazine in the educational field is enormous, and will help us avoid fears, uncertainties and doubts of using Wikipedia in the classroom.

We also participated in many events. For example we gave a keynote speech at EPUEL (Encuentro por una Educación Libre 2010), a free software, free culture educational event with around 200 participants from Buenos Aires, and other cities like Rosario and Córdoba. Lila Pagola also used the booklet in a workshop in Arequipa, Perú, in January 2011.

Press Coverage

We will be still working in this project in the future, as we still have booklets, scheduled events during the whole year, and we consider education issues as work in permanent progress.

Detail of expenditures

Total Amount of the Grant: 2000.- US Dollars
Total Amount in Arg. Pesos: $ 7.476,35

(Estimated exchange rate: 3.93 Ar$ x 1 USD)

-Booklet Design: Ar$ $1.200,00.- (300US)

-Printing: Ar$ $6.176,00.- (1600US)

-Administrative costs: $750,00 (185US)

Total Cost: Ar$ 8126,00
Total Cost: US 2085.-

Amount underspent in US Dollars

Will you be requesting re-allocation of remaining grant funding?