Training modules/Design ideas

Dealing with online harassment

First draft Second draft

Keeping events safe

First draft Second draft

Handling private information

Translation

Feedback

Overall goals

List of modules

Drafting/discussion spaces

Discuss design, accessibility, and formatting of modules

Previous research

Online harassment resource guide Online community conduct policies

The Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to creating training modules that have usable design as well as useful content. So as we begin to create these modules, we know that we need to think about more than just what they say; we need to think about how they say it, as well as how it will be structured, and how potential trainees will access and use these modules. Below, you will find prototype module designs and a list of design considerations we are thinking about.

We want to hear your opinions about these design issues! Please give us your feedback on the talk page.

Design prototypes

We have prepared prototypes of a variety of possible formats for the training modules, from the very simple to the highly complex. We encourage you to look at them, test their functionality on both desktop and mobile (though please keep in mind that these are prototypes, not full implementations of the modules), and comment on the talk page to tell us any pros, cons, or preferences among the options that you come up with.

Using Module:TrainingPages

For more complete documentation, see the original English Wikipedia module

• Try the prototype

The TrainingPages module was originally designed by user:Ragesoss (then working as a Wikimedia Foundation contractor as User:Sage Ross (WMF), now continuing his work as part of the Wiki Education Foundation as User:Sage (Wiki Ed)) to be used by participants in the Education Program. TrainingPages provides a set of wrapper and navigation templates that (semi-)automatically format educational content into ordered lessons.

Pros and cons of using TrainingPages for the Support & Safety training modules

Pros

• Does not require advanced programming knowledge, just advanced knowledge of wikimarkup and templates
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations
• Many good examples using this module already exist, courtesy of the EP
• Very user-friendly for module users; simply click "next" and "previous", etc
• Displays users' progress ("you are on page 1 of 15") to them
• Works on mobile

Cons

• Complex system of templates that this relies on means it must be set up (and updated, when needed) by an experienced, template-fluent user
• Any "tests" or user exercises that require the to edit or be graded on an answer will take place outside of the Training Pages (pages in the module can give directions on how to edit one’s sandbox, for example, but they may not be able to pull in a self-contained sandbox for users to play in, or offer a radio-button quiz)
• Module has not been extensively tested with setups that include translation; it's possible this will need fine-tuning by someone fluent in Lua or the details of the translate extension
• Format somewhat cramped when viewing it on mobile

Using a WikiEdu-style dashboard

• Try the prototype [off-wiki link]

The Wiki Education Foundation has developed a training "dashboard" system for delivering educational content to users. With the help of Sage Ross, the Support and Safety team has been able to design a prototype of our training modules that would make use of this more-mature tool to deliver their content. This is still a work-in-progress, but is live on the Wikimedia Foundation-owned Programs & Events Dashboard on WMFlabs.

Pros and cons of using a WikiEdu-style dashboard

Pros

• Extremely user-friendly design and interface
• Can integrate "live" quizzes and knowledge checks
• Allows users to "join" a module, track their progress, and (if needed) have their completion of module work recorded for verification by their community, etc
• Can draw content (including translations) and organization of modules from on-wiki pages (meaning they can be edited by anyone with on-wiki access, and users who prefer to view content only on-wiki can access it there)

Cons

• Runs on an off-wiki (though WMF-owned) site
• Complex creation of a module on the Dashboard means it must be set up (and updated, when needed) by an experienced Wikimedian who can work with .json files as well as nested page/template calls
• Currently, quiz/knowledge testing structures cannot be pulled from onwiki; changing this would require significant time investment from the WikiEdu staff who are assisting us This work is actually nearly done, thanks to Sage!

Using a navbox to move among module pages

• Try the prototype

This is a simple setup that breaks module content into lessons of whatever desired size. Users of the module are not directed through them in order, but are given a navbox on each page from which they can choose among lessons.

Pros and cons of using a navbox setup

Pros

• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations
• Extremely simple to set up (create content pages as normal, fill out a navbox template, place template onto each page)
• Easily understandable and usable by anyone with a small amount of on-wiki experience
• Users can decide how to move among the lessons

Cons

• Navboxes do not work on mobile
• Does not lead users through lessons in order, which may be confusing
• No progress tracking

Using a "tabs" bar at the top of the page

• Try the prototype

This is a format many Wikimedians are already familiar with; it presents a persistent tab bar at the top of each module page. Though users are not directed through the tabs in a specific order, they are visually organized (and further organizable) in an order that will be easy for users to follow.

Pros and cons of using a tab bar

Pros

• Works on mobile
• Format is familiar to most Wikimedians; how to use navigation tabs is intuitive to most computer users
• Setup of tab bar is reasonably simple for experienced Wiki editors
• Top-of-page placement makes user navigation easy
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations

Cons

• Format somewhat cramped when viewing on mobile; may require side scrolling
• Does not lead users through lessons in order, which may be confusing
• Because modules have a large number of sub-lessons, tab bar somewhat difficult to format in a way that's not highly compressed and/or that consumes too much space on the page
• Setup requires someone who is reasonably comfortable with templates and divs
• No progress tracking

Using a single-page view

• Try the prototype

A single-page view is the simplest implementation of module content; as the name implies, it presents the entirety of the module's content on one page.

Pros and cons of using a single-page view

Pros

• Makes it easy for users to print modules, or download them to another reading format like Pocket or Instapaper
• Setup effort is negligible for anyone capable of basic wikimarkup
• No complex navigation for users to negotiate; page's scroll bar gives them an approximation of progress
• Generally should work on mobile, other than potentially some templates (which could be optimized to work on mobile if needed)
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations

Cons

• Slower page loads for anyone on limited bandwidth
• Single, large chunk may make content less easily approachable
• No explicit progress tracking
• Lacks the interactive quality of a module that presents lessons individually

Major design concerns

Below are some potential design and formatting issues we are already thinking about and would like to hear your opinions about; however, this is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to raise relevant issues we haven’t thought of!

Location of modules

1. Do you believe these modules must be hosted on a Wikimedia project (i.e. XXX.wikimedia.org)?
   • If so, why?
2. Do you believe these modules should, but not must be hosted on a Wikimedia project?
   • If so, under what circumstances would you accept the modules being hosted off-wiki? For instance, if using an off-wiki venue allowed us to make the modules more interactive, or use multimedia, or allow users to track their progress, would those be valid reasons to opt for off-wiki?
   • Would you make a distinction between a “completely off-wiki” venue such as an independent site, and a “semi-off-wiki” site like Tool Labs or Wikiedu.org that, while not a Wikimedia Project, is under the Wikimedia umbrella? Would one of these types of “off-wiki” be more acceptable than another?
3. If we were to host these modules off-wiki, what factors would you want us to make sure we could address in terms of user rights and security? For instance, data retention by the hosting site, copyright concerns of the hosting site…

Accessibility

Not every user of our modules will be typical in every way, and many may need to access or view the modules in ways that accommodate their needs. What types of accessibility concerns must the modules take into account? Pick as many of the following as you wish, or add your own:

• Screen readers: modules must work with screen reading software
• General visual impairment: modules must be usable at high zoom, must use accessible color schema.
• Mobile users: modules must be both readable and usable by people viewing them on mobile
• Low bandwidth: modules must not be designed in such a manner that users on slow or metered internet connections cannot or will not want to use them

Structure

1. Should modules be available in a single-page format?
   • As the default?
   • As an option the user can select?
2. If you think the modules should be available in a multi-page format, what is the best limit to draw for the size/complexity of an individual page? For instance, X seconds of load time on an average connection, X minutes of reading time, one whole lesson...
3. How structured should the modules be? Should the user be stepped through content and lessons in a specific order, or should they simply be provided with all the information the module contains and allowed to decide how to work through it?
4. What form should the primary content of the modules be presented via? For instance, video, long-form prose, short-form prose...

Potential delivery mechanisms

There exist a handful of pre-existing extensions, modules, and tools that could potentially be used to deliver our training modules. Here are a few we know of; please let us know if you think any of these are appropriate, or if you are aware of any similar platforms we aren't.

• Module:Training Pages- an extension and set of templates that allow structured navigation through and presentation of training content
  • Pros: Operates on-wiki, already written, makes module content easily consumable by users
  • Cons: May need more development to work flawlessly with translation, is quite complex to set up
• WikiEdu Training Dashboard(running either on the WikiEdu site or, potentially, on a Training Module-specific place on Tool Labs)
  • Pros: Has a number of features that could be useful in our modules (interactive quizzes, progress tracking, well-controlled bandwidth usage)
  • Cons: Operates off-wiki, coded using specialized Javascript markdown (.yaml) that would need to be learned by module designers, currently does not support translation of module content via a mechanism other than “create a whole separate module for each language”

Features

For each of the following types of content, we'd like to hear opinions on whether the modules must have them, should have them, should not have them, or must not have them. If you feel any use of a given feature may be optional but must not be mandatory for completion of the module, please tell us that too.

1. Video:
   • Content (for instance, the main body of a module would be a “lesson” video)
   • Demonstrations (for instance, role-playing event organizers handling a Friendly Spaces violation)
   • Background information (for instance, someone speaking on video about how harassment has affected them)
2. Audio:
   • Content (for instance, the main body of a module would be “lesson” audio)
   • Demonstrations (for instance, role-playing event organizers handling a Friendly Spaces violation)
   • Background information (for instance, someone speaking on video about how harassment has affected them)
3. User activities:
   • Solo user activities (for instance, asking users to practice something in their userspace)
   • Group user activities (for instance, asking users who are taking the module to participate in a talk page discussion or practice scenario with other users currently taking the module)
4. Quizzes:
   • Non-interactive quizzes (for instance, a module might present a list of questions and ask a user to create a page in their sandbox for their answers)
   • Interactive user quizzes (for instance, a module might have a javascript-based quiz embedded in it, where users answer questions and then submit the quiz)
   • Non-graded quizzes or passing-optional quizzes (a user's score on a quiz does not affect their ability to move on in the module)
   • Graded or pass-fail quizzes (a user must pass a quiz with a certain level of accuracy to be allowed to move on in the module)
5. Humor (for instance, a funny gif or comic to illustrate a topic)
6. Real-world examples (for instance, anonymized case studies of past harassment events)

Completion

1. When a user finishes a model, which, if any, of the following should occur?
   • User receives a barnstar
   • User is given access to a “completion certificate”
   • User is shown a “congratulations” message
   • User is encouraged to provide feedback to the WMF about their experience with the module
     • Publicly (module talk page)
     • Privately (email)
2. Do you believe your community will want the WMF to facilitate or consider approving any of the following if these modules are found to be useful to communities and organizers:
   • A requirement by your community that holders of certain user rights must complete some or all of these training modules
   • A requirement by your community that organizers of events must must complete some or all of these training modules
   • A discussion process during which your community discusses how and whether to require any of its members to complete some or all of these training modules
   • A public presentation at events of some or all of the content of the events module (i.e. assisting community members in training event attendees irl)
   • Creating new training modules on topics of interest to your community