User:ErrantX/Schools talk

1) Intro

• Who am I?
• Interests
• How to contact me.

2) Why Schools? (for Wikipedia)

• Schools present various problems on Wikipedia, fixing them would be good
  • Articles are magnets for vandlism
  • Young children interacting online; presents the obvious risk, but also difficulty collaborating
  • Lack of ability in writing comprehension & research

3) Why Schools? (for Higher Ed)

• What does Wikipedia instill...
  • Research
  • Writing
  • Teamwork
  • Politics
• Are these skills useful in later education?
• Do schools teach these effectively

4) Why Schools? (for Schools)

• Vandalism tends to affect school articles ("Mr. Smith iz Gaybo!"), obviously embarassing
• We have experience to offer to school children#

5) Interaction, not editing

• Introducing children as editors has many pitfalls
• But the key problem is a lack of respect for (or understanding of) Wikipedia's goals, and usefulness
• No need to rush into making them good editors, just teach them about using us!
• So what can we do?

6) Teaching teachers

• One of the problems is teachers;
  • Often themselves are not exposed to Wikipedia as a valid reference work
  • Advice for teachers often recommends against us
• Outreach to teachers is key!

7) Teaching kids

• Obviously a key aspect!
• Wikipedia does outreach sessions with professionals
• Getting Wikipedians into schools present difficulties (time, clearance, etc.)

8) What can we teach?

• Wikipedia values have several useful aspects..
  • ICT: using the web, researching etc.
  • Critical Thinking (self-evident..)
  • English: formal writing...
  • Debate: defending your content/material

8) The centralised approach?

• Can we take a curriculum based approach?
• IB & TOK
• Other avenues? Higher education outreach?