Grants:Project/Rapid/UG BR/Neuromathematics Edit-a-thons at USP

statusFunded

UG BR/Neuromathematics Edit-a-thons at USP

This edit-a-thons intends to promote Wikimedia projects among undergraduate students from the University of São Paulo, especially from the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Veterinary. Activities in both events will include short presentations on the Wikimedia projects and editing Wikipedia, and a gathering to edit on content specifically related to Neuroscience and Mathematics.

targetpt.wikipedia

start date1 March *

end date31 May *

budget (local currency)~~BRL 2,850.00~~ BRL 2,350.00***

budget (USD)USD 891,525 (11 Jan)

grant typeindividual

grantee• Horadrim~usurped

contact(s)• david.alves

outlook.com

organization (if applicable)• User Group Wikimedia in Brazil

website (if applicable)• http://wikimedianobrasil.org/

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Project Goals

Accomplish two edit-a-thons at University of São Paulo (USP).
Develop undergraduate students and researchers' editing skills on Wikipedia.
Create new articles and improve existing ones about Neuroscience and Mathematics, specially in the Probability and Statistics fields, on Wikipedia.
Foster a Wikimedia-friendly community in the best university in Brazil and South America.

Project Plan

Activities

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. Be sure to answer the following questions:
1. Are you doing one editathon or training or a series of editathons or trainings?
Two edit-a-thons. The User Group Wikimedia in Brasil (UG BR) has already been involved in edit-a-thons in the same university during the last two years, both in the context of a workshop and a scientific conference. More information here (2015, in English), here and here (both in 2016, in Portuguese). The 2016 activities were generously awarded a rapid grant; application is available here, and report is available here.

2. How will you let your community know about the event? Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions.
An individual page has already been drafted on Wikipedia in Portuguese for each edit-a-thon here and here. Posters are expected to be spread on campus, depending on funding, as well as through relevant social media for students and researchers. A post on the Village Pump in Portuguese will be published, and a press release will be sent out from the UG Wikimedia in Brazil to media partners inside and outside the university. This is a similar strategy that was adopted in 2016, for events that were considered successful.

3. Do you have experienced Wikimedia editors to lead the event?
Yes, including Wikipedian-in-residence Horadrim~usurped (WiR username Horadrim) and Mariliacarrera (WiR username Mariliawikipedia) as well as wikimedians Sturm and Joalpe.

4. Do participants have the equipment or skills needed to participate and contribute high quality content? If not, how will you support them?
The UG BR has secured a partnership with RIDC NeuroMat, a research center at the University of São Paulo, that will grant access to a computer laboratory with twenty desktop computers, as well as an auditorium for a training session prior to the event for those not familiarized with Wikipedia. Internet access is freely provided to students at the university.

5. How will you engage participants after the event(s)?
The UG BR will record participants' e-mails and user names, and a specific message will be sent some days after the event to ask for an assessment of the activity and to follow up. Participants will also be asked during the event if they wish to be included on the user-group mailing list.

6. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?
This activity is part of an ongoing initiative to promote scientific dissemination through Wikimedia projects in Brazil, that has been reported here. Particularly, it's a follow-up on a training (reported here) provided by UG BR and RIDC NeuroMat in December 2016, in which participants were invited to draft ideas and strategies for edit-a-thons and GLAM partnerships. All participants in said training will be invited to join these edit-a-thons. The first event will also have the special participation of LiAnna Davis, Wiki Education Foundation's Director of Programs, whose visit is being funded by an external grant and who will provide a lecture on educational uses of Wikimedia projects for the Brazilian community probably in a morning section in the same day of the edit-a-thon. Davis' visit will be an incentive for both new editors and, specially, engaged wikimedians to participate.

* Start date has been revised to 1^st of March considering the necessary time to advertise the first marathon. End date has been proposed as 31^st of May, as the second edit-a-thon is planned to take place before that, although it's official date is still in planning.

Impact

How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets:

Number of events: 2
Number of participants: 15-20 per event / 30-40 total
Number of new editors: 5-10 total**
Number of of articles created or improved: 15-20 per event / 30-40 total
Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events): 5-10

** 2015 and 2016 edit-a-thons were mostly exclusively about recruting new editors; this time, we want to keep open to new editors but want mostly to re-activate bonds we have already created in the community.

Resources

What resources do you have? Include information on who is organizing the project, what they will do, and if you will receive support from anywhere else (in-kind donations or additional funding).
This is a joint project organized by UG BR and RIDC NeuroMat members, under the coordination of Horadrim~usurped and Mariliacarrera, who are Wikipedians-in-residence at the research center. A computer lab with desktops and an internet access is secured from the center, as well as a classroom for training. Brochure on the basics of Wikipedia editing from prior activities will also be handed out to participants. The UG BR banner that was funded by WMF in another rapid grant will also be used, as per proposed the former request.

What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense and include a total amount.

Posters: ~~BRL 1,400 (BRL 700 per activity)~~ BRL 900 (BRL 450 per activity)***
Snack: BRL 1,450 (BRL 725 per activity)

Promotional material from the WMF, such as stickers and buttons to be distributed among participants, would be helpful for spreading awareness and fostering the community to keep engaged.

*** As per counseling by a WMF member, this value has been adjusted considering that the main target audiences for the edit-a-thons have already participated in events. New editors are still a target, however, and the events' promotion will be more restricted.

Endorsements

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

Support These activities are part of an ongoing strategy to foster a healthier community in Brazil, especially active in educational settings. Small edit-a-thons, as the ones we hope to see funded, are important to provide a meeting, reference point for our community. --Joalpe (talk) 01:31, 12 January 2017 (UTC)

Support, such edit-a-thons have proven successful before and this group of organizers works pretty well together - they "flow like oil", as Mozart would say. I've taken part of a couple of these edit-a-thons before and can testify it's efficiency. Victor Lopes (talk) 17:15, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

Support. Vitor Mazuco ^Msg 09:46, 19 January 2017 (UTC)