Grants:Project/Rapid/UNI Edits 2019-2020

statuswithdrawn

Rapid Grants

UNI Edits 2019-2020

Building on our previous success recruiting editors and improving the diversity of Wikipedia (in editorship and content), Rod Library at the University of Northern Iowa will undertake a Wikipedia project during the spring 2020 semester to celebrate women's history and contributions to society. The project will include four main edit-a-thons: Voter Rights & the 19th Amendment, Women in Red, Art+Feminism, and Diversity in Comics.

targetEN, Women in Red, Art+Feminism, Black Lunch Table

start dateFebruary 1

end dateMay 15

budget (local currency)2,000

budget (USD)2,000

grant typeorganization

non-profit statusYes

grantee• ActionableIdeas

contact(s)• angela.pratesi@uni.edu

organization (if applicable)• University of Northern Iowa, Rod Library

website (if applicable)• https://uni.edu/ and https://library.uni.edu/

friendly space expectations

ucc

privacystatement

Create your report

Please see the sample Editathon/Training application before drafting your application.

Project Goal

Choose one or more of the following goals. You can add or delete goals as needed.

1. Recruit new editors
2. Increase skills for existing editors
3. Add or improve content
4. Increase knowledge of Wikipedia among campus and community constituents

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?

We will be providing a series of edit-a-thons, trainings, and events over the course of the academic year, which begins August 26, 2019 and ends May 15, 2020.

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.

Community members will be notified using the university's weekly email announcement bulletin, the university and library event calendars, Facebook event and social media promotion, and classroom announcements. We will also be collaborating with faculty to tie the events to course content and coordinating with interested student organizations. We also hope to coordinate with one of the local public libraries to promote events and possibly host one or more programs or edit-a-thons in their space to reach a different audience.

3. Do you have experienced Wikimedia editors to lead the event?

Yes, we will have multiple experienced Wikipedia editors leading each event. We aim to have at least one experienced Wikipedian to assist for every ten simultaneous participants.

4. Do participants have the equipment or skills needed to participate and contribute high quality content? If not, how will you support them?

Equipment will be available for all participants. Generally, participants have the research skills but will need support acquiring the Wikipedia skills. In addition to having experienced Wikipedians available to work with participants, we have developed posters and handouts that introduce the pillars and core tenets of Wikipedia as well as the basics of editing that are distillations of the content provided by Wiki Edu. We've had great success using Citation Hunt as a quick way to get new Wikipedians started. For the more experienced Wikipedians, we provide lists of articles that need to be created or improved and related research materials (e.g. print encyclopedias, scholarly books, etc.) which they can use as sources.

5. How will you engage participants after the event(s)?

We will use the "thank" button to acknowledge the work done by participants. We will also send a survey to participants to gauge their satisfaction with the event(s) and solicit ideas for improvements.

6. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?

After the successful completion of six previous edit-a-thons on campus, many participants--faculty, students, library workers--have asked us to continue hosting edit-a-thons. They are a valuable way of improving and practicing research and writing skills while simultaneously improving the information that is freely available on the internet.

Impact

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

1. Number of edit-a-thons=4
2. Number of edit-a-thon participants=60
3. Number of new editors=30
4. Number of of articles created or improved=120
5. Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events)=20
6. Number of programs about Wikipedia (e.g. presentations)=2
7. Number of program participants=40

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).

We will have multiple experienced Wikipedians including librarians, faculty, and a graduate assistant. The space, equipment, and wifi are available free of charge. Support is available for instructional materials like handouts.

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

1. Food and drink = $250 x 4 edit-a-thons = $1000
2. Childcare = $200 per event x 4 edit-a-thons = $800
3. Advertising = $15 x 4 edit-a-thons = $60
4. Swag = ($30 x 4 edit-a-thons) + ($10 x 2 programs) = $140

Endorsements

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

• UNI Edits continues to gain popularity and impact - keep up the good work! 134.161.250.110 17:37, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
• these are amazing! 134.161.249.254 21:01, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
• Students would be hard pressed to find another opportunity to practice research skills; learn a great deal of information; impact the information space in a positive, meaningful way; all way meeting new people and having a lot of fun.

-My students have consistently reflected that they had no idea Wikipedia was such an important resource AND that they are able to provide REAL research to a worldwide public so easily. For example: "Democratizing Knowledge: Using Wikipedia for Inclusive Teaching and Research in Four Undergraduate Classes"

• This is a great way to encourage community on a university campus. 134.161.29.221 18:11, 27 August 2019 (UTC)
• This is a vital program to bolster students' information literacy skills. Without this program, I would not have known the complexity of Wikipedia or contributed 200+ edits.
• This is necessary intellectual work with an important educational component. Jim.oloughlin (talk) 19:51, 11 September 2019 (UTC)