Education/Greenhouse/teamsubmissions/SEABA Education Program

Wikimedia & Education Greenhouse - Team Application Form

Before starting your application, make sure all members of your team have read and understood the team application guidelines.

Project idea

What idea do you want to bring to the W&E Greenhouse?

Describe the context, theme, goals, strategies, duration of your proposed initiative. Be as detailed as possible.

Context

There is a huge difference in the education system and the type of education imparted to students going to schools affiliated to different boards in India. The students from backward areas don’t have access to resources and have also limited information limited to their curriculum. This makes their learning more tedious. The school is located in a rural area, but the management is really devoted to providing different opportunities for students to help them grow and to prepare an informed youth for future.

Taking a step in this direction, the school has recruited one of the Wikimedians, Jagseer as a Wiki faculty under Wikimedian-in-residence program where he will be forming an active wiki club in the school, engage students on Punjabi Wiki and will also inform them about the different programs, their initiation, need and importance in global perspective. Along with this, the sessions by different team members at various times, will guide them on how to use internet and information more productively, how to identify reliable resources and how to be neutral in expression of facts and statements on a public platform.

These students are resourceful in collecting local relevant data and also in documentation of the same, because of their knowledge about the same and their proficiency in the language. This training will help them manage the dubious information on internet, use it wisely and create reliable information for the readers in Punjabi. We expect that this training, will make the students more informed about the global education movement and will also help them understand the needs and concerns, in turn providing us better informed youth for future. In this project, our aim is not only to impart education and bring students on board to Wikimedia projects, but also to create an impact on other students to join the movement, and to create a learning environment where ideas and appreciated and inputs are valued irrespective of the age or language.

Theme

The theme would be to make students understand the importance of education and having resources in their native language. The goal is to teach them “How to study” rather than focussing on “What to study”. We will also focus on- Creating well resourced and neutral information (Wikipedia). Attempt to document the local relevant information which isn’t available online e.g. stories, customs, traditions, notable people, etc. Digitalisation of resources (Wikisource). Assistance for future online editing (Wiktionary) To make learning a fun activity. Translation

Goals

The main objectives are:

To introduce the Wikimedia projects to students, which involves collaborative work, research skills etc.
To help the students to enhance their digital skills, to do a critical evaluation of information, consumption, and creation of open knowledge resources.
To enrich the content on Punjabi language Wikimedia projects, which also train the students to access the information in vernacular languages and contribute to the world wide web.
To help students to develop internet and information literacy, that would help them thrive in the 21st century.

The aims are

To boost confidence in the students and make them future ready
To make students more responsible for the creation and preservation of resources.
To enhance their knowledge and skills of digital education and resource management
To enhance awareness and readership of Punjabi Wikimedia projects.
To help students to interpret and identify various sources of information.
To teach them neutral expression
To generate quality content on Punjabi Wikimedia project
To make them appreciate the importance of language and education resources
To work cumulatively for the growth of language and content enrichment
To engage students to Wikimedia projects for a longer duration (readers and contributors)
To retain the existing student members

The duration of the project would be 1 year.

Strategy and Work Plan

Introducing Punjabi Wikipedia and Wikisource to Students

User:Jagseer S Sidhu, is currently working as a Wikimedian-in-Residence at Society for Education & Awareness in Backward Areas (SEABA) International Public School in a small town called Lehragaga in Punjab, India. He will be the primary coordinator of this project. Different types of initiatives at different times will be planned depending upon the outcome we wish to achieve.

To increase readership, awareness sessions will be organized at the beginning of the academic year for all the students and teachers of the school. But for contribution to various Wikimedia projects, the plan is to initially focus on grooming potential contributors by forming a WikiClub similar to VVIT WikiConnect with committed students and teachers. We will also collaborate with the VVIT Club and follow their best practices. The team call will also be arranged at regular intervals, to share updates and for future discussions.
The primary lead and some team members are already working with students to create audio recordings of content on Punjabi Wikisource. The contemporary education in India doesn’t focus on vernacular knowledge and working with the content on Wikisource helps to groom the students in this aspect among other obvious aspects such as digital literacy and typing in local languages. This will also help in improving mother language education.
To start with projects which are easier to work on like Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource, etc initially and then step by step advancing the level and type of contribution. Making students understand the important concepts of editing on Wikipedia like-neutrality, reliable resources, etc.and introduce them to Wikipedia editing only after training.
We have already started this project as the school has hired Jagseer S Sidhu as a Wikimedian-in-Residence as of April 2019. The goal of this project is to involve students and teachers in Wikiprojects and we would achieve that by developing the following steps within a period of 1 year:

Timeline

April to June 2019:
- Awareness session
- Onboarding potential contributors.
- Awareness about being civil and conduct code
- Experimenting with different methods of engaging students in wiki activities
- Noting the observations and making changes in the approach and plan
- Organizing Wiktionary related activity.
  - Students have started working on creating audio recordings of texts on Punjabi Wikisource.
- Continuous assessment of students involvement and contribution.
- Identifying good contributors and training them to be mentors for other students.
- Create a meta page and continuous updation
July to September 2019:
- Building Infrastructure- creating resources and help-books for assistance of other wikimedians involved in Education programs
- Organizing Wikisource activity.
- Observe and derive learnings
- Student-centric Wikimedia activity (Quiz)
- Workshop on a Wikimedia project (as per participants interest)
- Session by a Wikimedian (Interesting subject and activities- 1-day event)
- Record maintenance and Reporting
- Meta page updation

October to December 2019:
- Organizing Wikipedia activities.
- Letting students plan a small scale student lead event or activity
- Learnings
- WikiCamp 2019 (For details refer section- )
- Record maintenance and Reporting
- Meta page updation
January to March 2020:
- Taking inputs from the students and the involved wikimedians.
- Analyze the activities planned and their outcome
- Analyze the student feedback
- Record maintenance and Reporting
- Meta page updation
April 2020:
- Final Report at the end of the academic year
- Publish a case study

Progress

Jagseer S Sidhu joined SEABA School, Lehragaga as a full-time Wikimedian-in-residence from April 2019 and he has created more than 35 accounts and have taught the students about Wikimedia Foundation, its projects-Wikipedia and Wikisource, Punjabi Wikipedia, typing in Punjabi, and the basics before editing like- How to create a new account, How to create user page, Creating and adding categories etc. The team is now working on an audio book and some of the Audio recordings by school students can be found here:

A poem about the first letter of the Gurmukhi script “ੳ”. Recited by Khushveer Kaur, SEABA International Public School

A poem about the second letter of the Gurmukhi script “ਅ”. Recited by GURMEHAK KAUR, SEABA International Public School

A poem about the first letter of the Gurmukhi script “ੳ”
A poem about the second letter of the Gurmukhi script “ਅ”

Who would you engage in your initiative?

Describe the kind of relationships you have or plan to establish with potential partners in your community, both in your local Wikimedia community and education community.

We are already working with the teachers and high school students at the school to increase awareness and readership of Wikimedia projects. The students and faculty members from the nearby schools (if interested) would be welcome to join.
We will work with volunteers of the Punjabi Wikimedians User Group, 2 teachers from SEABA International Public School, Lehragaga and a group of 30 students as contributors.
We will also be regularly engaging with Satdeep Gill from the Community Programs team at the Wikimedia Foundation on how we can leverage Wikisource and Wikidata to engage newbies.

In terms of financial resources, how much money would you need to achieve your goals?

Indicate your local currency and describe how you would divide your budget for this project.

Item	Units	Currency in INR
Stationary (Notepds, Pens, Sheets, Pencils, Workbooks, etc.)	For stock	8000
Banners and Posters	For stock, events	5000
Brochures or Flyers	Outreach	3000
White Boards or Soft Boards	4	4000
Portable Projector and Screen	1	15000
Laptop for Wikimedian-in-Residence	1	45000
Internet	1 device + Monthly Recharge	5000
Travel	For events and participants	10000
Food	For events and participants	20000
Logistics (if required)	For events and participants	5000
Swag (T-Shirt or Bottle)	30-35	12000
Student Camp (30 students)	Local event	65000
Miscellaneous		10000
TOTAL		207000 (“‘2942.61 USD’’’) Conversion: 1 USD= 70.35 INR

Total Budget: 2942.61 USD

Note: The host institute is providing a monthly remuneration of 210 dollars to the Wikimedian-in residence. The institute is also providing the space for club and stay for visiting and residing wikimedians, free access to infrastructure and School Library.

How will you know your project has succeeded?

Describe potential evaluation plans, indicators, tools, etc. that will help you identify if you have achieved your goals

We will evaluate the learning attitude of the students from their involvement and progress on wiki. For teachers, usage of Wikipedia to teach students will be a marker of success.
We will take feedback from the participants to evaluate what skills they have acquired and their learnings. We will conduct interviews with participants to get more in-depth feedback.
A group of volunteer students as well as teachers who are willing to continue the Wikimedia journey, itself would be indicative of the project’s success. If we will be able to retain 10 students for the next session, we will consider this as a positive outcome. The idea is to have a long term involvement and not short-term engagement.

Metrics

Number of students engaged (Readers and Contributors) - 100
Number of new contributors in the Punjabi community- 20
Number of events- 07
Number of retained editors- 10
Organize WikiCamp 2019 with 30 students
Number of audio recordings - 200
Number of Commons uploads - 100
Number of pages proofread on Wikisource - 500
Number of pages edited on Wikipedia - 200

What are the biggest challenges you foresee in the implementation of your idea and how would you address them?

0Be as detailed as possible.

Teachers we want to work with don’t trust Wikipedia as a reliable source.
Poor infrastructure such as computers and internet at the institution.

Solutions

We will teach them how to verify facts available on Wikipedia.
We have consulted with a service provider whose internet connection is stable and fast.
The school authorities have agreed to provide better infrastructure. We can also try take some assistance from certain local affiliates and organizations.

Motivation

Why do Wikimedia projects belong in education?

Share your team’s perspectives on the value of Wikimedia projects in education.

Introducing Punjabi Wikipedia and Wikisource to Students

There is a quote that says “True knowledge induces in the mind, service to mankind”. By working on Wikimedia projects we are not only conserving the information in our native language for the generations to come but are also serving the people seeking information in Punjabi sitting in different parts of the world. Any kind of knowledge is expanded by different perspectives and more contributors mean more enrichment of information. Also, education is the base of any and every kind of development and growth, with this project we aim to make students understand the importance of knowledge.

Our team believe our project will motivate the students and teachers to participate in different wikimedia projects and this is the perfect place to learn and teach about digital literacy.
It will help school students to learn fundamental skills which will help them in college and university.

Why do you want to join the W&E Greenhouse?

Share your main reasons for applying, motivation, expectations, and what you would like to achieve by the end of this experience.

Our main reason to join W&E Greenhouse is that this will help us effectively run our first ever institutional partnership as well as a Wikiclub at SEABA International Public School.
Since, this kind of a partnership at a school is a first of its kind, partnering with the Education team will be helpful in order to have long term impact.
This can become a model for future educational collaborations. The Wikimedia + Education community will also learn about our local context and how we are using various techniques and methods (involving Wikisource, Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia) to engage students, facilitate learning and grow Wikimedia projects.

Team

Who are the members of your team?

Indicate who will be the main focal point and the roles/responsibilities each member would have during the development of your project. Make sure your Wikimedia usernames are properly linked.


Sr. No	User Name	Role	Responsibility
1	Jagseer S Sidhu	Wikimedian-in-Residence	Prime responsibility- Execution of project, guiding faculty and students, training Club members, managing routine activities of Club, logistic arrangements for events, maintaining records and updating information on meta, sharing updates on different channels, plan meetings and sessions.
2	Satpal Dandiwal	Community Advocate	Provide assistance in sharing information on different channels, resource assistance for additional activities, support in organizing activities, assistance in training students and updating information on meta.
3	Manavpreet Kaur	Volunteer	Account management, activity plan, arranging additional sessions, maintenance of bills and expense statement.
4	Charan Gill	Volunteer	Support in organizing activities, assistance in training students, arranging additional sessions (Language) and liaison between the wikimedians and partner institute.
5	Stalinjeet Brar	Volunteer	Support in organizing activities, assistance in training students, procurement of supplies and updating information on meta.
6	Nirmal Brar	Volunteer	Support in organizing activities and assistance in training students.
7	Kuljit Kaur	Volunteer	Activity plan, assisting and leading additional activities and sessions.
8	Sandeep	Volunteer	Support in organizing activities and assistance in training students.

Where is your team located?

Keep in mind that all team members should be in the same location for the on-site visits from the WMF Education team. These visits will be scheduled in advance in consultation with the selected team.

Majority of the team is located in Patiala and Sangrur districts of Punjab, India and hence, live within a distance of 30-90 km from the location of the school. Jagseer who is primary applicant, is a Wikimedian in residence and stays inside the school premises.

What languages does your teamspeak?

Please, keep in mind that for this first edition of the Greenhouse the main language of communication will be English.

Our mother tongue is Punjabi but all team member speaks English fluently. All team members have near-native fluency in Hindi language and some of them are fluent in Urdu as well.

Have any members of your team been involved in organizing other Wikimedia outreach initiatives?

Please, provide links to newsletters/photos/documentation if available.

Yes, all team members have organized and participated in various Wikimedia outreach programs. Most of the team members have participated in national level outreach events such as Train the Trainer, Wiki Advanced Training, Project Tiger Training etc.
Punjabi Wikimedians has the experience of organizing a major event like WikiConference India 2016 and many of the key organizers of the event are part of our team. Many other workshops, edit-a-thons and meetups have been organized by the team members.

The detailed profiles of all the team members have been listed below-

Jagseer S Sidhu

Jagseer S Sidh is currently working on a Wikimedia Education Program at SEABA School, Lehragaga as a full time Wikimedian-in-residence and he has participated in the Project Tiger Training 2018 and organized Meetup in Bagha Purana.

She has worked with fellow wikimedians from India to organize- Wikipedia15 and Wikisource training at SDPS, Sangrur, Punjabi Wiki Strategy Meeting, Patiala 2017, WWWW2018, Mental health Awareness event by psychologists, TWLCON 2019, Wiki Awareness Campaign Ludhiana, Featured women wikimedian 2019, UNESCO Wiki4Women 2019 and Women TTT 2019. She was Program Coordinator- Wiki Conference India 2016 Started WikiClub with engineering students at Gulzar Group of Institutions, Khanna, Punjab. Organized the first activity in March 2019. She had an awareness session on "Non-conventional methods of knowledge expansion by Wikimedia education programs" by Manavpreet Kaur at Indian Education Awards (http://ieduawards.com/), 2019 at New Delhi. The session was fruitful and helped us gain 11 potential future collaborators (award-winning educators and institutions interested in wiki collaboration).

Satpal Dandiwal

Satpal Dandiwal has been volunteering for Wikimedia Projects since 2015 and is working as Community Advocate for Punjabi Wikimedians from September 2018. He is an administrator on Punjabi Wikipedia. He has been a part of some events in India like TTT2018, WikiConference India 2016, Wiki Advanced Training, Project Tiger Training 2018, Wikigraphists Bootcamp, India. Apart from this, he has been a part of some local events as a trainer or instructor as well.

Stalinjeet Brar

He is an active contributor, an editor on Wiki projects for the last 4 years and is also an Administrator on Punjabi Wikipedia and Punjabi Wiktionary. He organized the first ever Wikipedia Workshop Kotkapura. He also organised Punjabi Wiki Strategy Meeting, Patiala 2017. In the beginning of 2018, he proposed the Punjabi Wikisource Grant and started working on Punjabi Wikisource Plan Apart from this,Guerilla_GLAM was well appreciated by different communities. He has started the GLAM project, GLAM/Punjabi_Sahit_Academy in collaboration with Punjabi Sahitya Academy.

Kuljit Kaur

Kuljit Kaur was one of the organizers of Wikipedia15 and Wikisource training at SDPS, Sangrur, attended Wiki Conference India 2016 and is also a team member of Wiki Education Expansion Campaign India, 2019. She also attended Indian Education Awards, 2019 at New Delhi as a team member and helped build connections.

Sandeep

Sandeep is a new member. She is taking initiatives to plan activities at her college.

Which members of your team will join the “Wikimedia & Education Project Management” online course?

Remember at least one member of your team needs to join and fully complete the online course.

Being the project lead and the Wikimedian-in-Residence, Jagseer Sidhu commits to join and fully complete the online course. Other members who have submitted their willingness to complete the online course are-

How did you learn about this opportunity?

We learned about the Greenhouse on Facebook and via mailing list.

WikiCamp 2019

Some of the team members are in the planning phase of WikiCamp and Wiki Education Expansion Campaign India, 2019 where various projects are being planned to expand the movement in education sector. Different organizations working in the field are being approached by conducting sessions at various events, to bring them on board for enhancing the outcome and learnings from the project. In the WikiCamp, will bring together the active student and faculty members who are a part of the education program together and plan fun activities of involving students in education activities. This event will be like a mini Train the Trainer program where advanced training will be given to the participants. Due to budget constraints, the major participation (15-20 participants) will be from the school, 5-7 from the other institute where we are running another education program and we will try to bring at least one representative from other active education clubs in India.

Future Plan

Punjabi Community is working on three Education Programs in total, where one program is in Punjabi University, Patiala, second is in the Gulzar Group of Institutes and third is at the School (Host institute for Greenhouse submission). We are organising activities at regular intervals and planning to continue these programs actively. We will update the records for continuous learning and to share our experience. In future, we are planning to plan a more inclusive and diverse platform for content enrichment on wiki and long term association of students with wiki projects. We are planning to apply for annual grants after successfully completing the pilot.

Get involved

Community notification

You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal so that they can help you! Depending on your project, the notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc.--> Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions.

We have notified on the village pump of Punjabi Wikipedia, the link is here and Punjabi Wikisource's village pump link is here.

Endorsements

Do you think this project should be selected to participate in the W&E Greenhouse? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).

Support Well written proposal. Worth supporting! -Filipinayzd (talk) 07:14, 15 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support A definelte need of the hour. Would want to see the results of this project ! -pratik.pks) 14:06, 15 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support--Sidheeq (talk) 17:24, 15 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support R Ashwani Banjan Murmu (talk) 20:44, 15 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Wassan.anmol (talk) 02:06, 16 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support-Jinoytommanjaly (talk) 12:16, 16 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Looks like good proposal--Jayprakash12345 (talk) 01:26, 17 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Proposal LGTM. Always support for these awesome team. Kind regards, — TBhagat (talk) 08:08, 17 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Good work plan and Nice proposal. Can bring a change in teaching style and education. Nivas10798 (talk) 01:04, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
While I do not know everyone on this team, the ones I do know, like Manavpreet, are serious Wikimedians with a proven track record of positive activities. This is an ambition project, but I like that they are not starting from scratch, but are actually trying to enhance existing efforts in Punjab. I believe that given support, this could be a success and something other countries can benefit from. Shani. (talk) 20:06, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support This is a well structured plan with a good intention. I am sure that the team involved are capable and will give it their all. Best wishes! SuswethaK (talk) 16:15, 19 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support --J. Ansari Talk 17:14, 19 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support-- Good proposal.......... I support this proposal. খাঁ শুভেন্দু (talk) 20:14, 19 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support When interest in education meets an enthusiastic team like this one, the results could be significant. Camelia.boban (talk) 21:30, 19 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Well Written Proposal. Best Wishes MNavya (talk) 00:42, 20 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Although most of the team members are comparatively new and inexperienced in online editing, but they have Charan Gill, an wonderful and prolific online editor on their side. I hope, his experience will definitely make a difference to bring positive outcomes. His presence in the team, is the reason, that I am endorsing this project. Best wishes. - Bodhisattwa (talk) 01:32, 20 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Dolon Prova (talk) 03:14, 20 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Best wishes to the team. I support this effort. Education will progress. Nettime Sujata (talk)
Support Good Luck --Armineaghayan (talk) 18:18, 20 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Best wishes, Nice proposal.I want to support this project. --Amanavsania (talk) 20 May 2019 (UTC)
Support It's a great initiative and It will be very helpful for those children, will promote smart education. --Aditi1601 (talk) 21 May 2019 (UTC)
Strong Support Till date, the concept of Wikimedia-in-Residence has been limited to GLAM institutions. Though there were a few cases of educational institutes having WiRs, they were eventually doing GLAM-related work. This concept of having WiR for Wikimedia and Education activities is quite innovative. It can bring out a new revolution in the EduWiki space, and be a good example for others to replicate. I am quite positive about the model in general as well. This is because, in traditional education programs, the interaction between the leaders and the participants is often limited, which leads to poor retention. Though most of the education programs don't focus on the retention of participants, I believe that as Wikimedia communities, retention is very crucial, and should be prioritised. Once a user is retained, he/she will create more content than they do during the period of the program. Having an in-house Wikimedian to continuously interact with the students will greatly contribute to retention. I also like the other unique approaches in this plan, such as using Wikisource to onboard students, integrating Wiktionary-related activities, the Wikicamp, and also at the same time focusing on bridging the local education gaps and catering the Punjabi community's needs. I have worked with most of the team members in the past, and I am confident they will drive this project to success. KCVelaga (talk) 04:57, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support --Bijay chaurasia (talk) 06:46, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support--Sumita Roy Dutta (talk) 07:58, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support--Durga bhat bollurodi (talk) 11:40, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support--Sushma Sharma (talk) 13:17, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support-- Maina Tudu (talk) 13:32, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support--Raju Jangid (talk) 05:46, 22 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Support This proposal is meticulously planned and has it's priorities clear. The focus on retention and the realistic numbers across the entire project speaks to the experience of the team. The auxiliary problems have all been given due attention, like indifference from other stakeholders and unreliable devices / connectivity. The project has been divided into phases all preparing the stage for the next one. With such impressive planning, I am eager to see how the initiative unfolds. --Dharav.solanki (talk) 13:54, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Wholeheartedly Support this initiative. The entire work plan has been discussed quite comprehensively.

All the details- including right from the introduction to how you're going to go about realising it, step-by-step- are quite exhaustive and thorough. Impressive and would definitely want to take inputs from the team. Good luck! -- Mouryan/মৌর্য্য/మౌర్య (❤) 20:02, 24 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Support Good plan --Maffeth.opiana (talk) 04:56, 25 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support This is a well structured proposal to continue and scale up already initiated activities and programs. I particularly like the idea of having a development plan, as presented here. If computers can be arranged alternatively --I remember there was a program for hardware donation within the WMF--, the budget could fall within the limit of a rapid grant. In this context, perhaps, on-site support and access to the online course on project management could be arranged. I am saying this because even if the selection committee agrees another team should be given the Greenhouse support, there might still be a way to make this great project work. --Joalpe (talk) 12:00, 28 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support Good initiative in India. --IM3847 (talk) 03:09, 11 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support This is a good initiative, with a reasonable budget, facilitated by experienced Wikimedians. --Rosiestep (talk) 12:37, 4 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

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