Redwidgeon

en-N	This user has a native understanding of English.

fr-1	Cet utilisateur dispose de connaissances de base en français.

es-1	Esta persona tiene un conocimiento básico del español.

eo-1	Ĉi tiu uzanto povas komuniki per baza nivelo de Esperanto.

About me

Professional life

I am an adult educator and curriculum consultant with experience in domestic, virtual and international settings. My academic background includes a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences and an M.A. in Adult Education, as well as postgraduate certificates in Instructional Design and Intercultural Communication. I worked for many years at College of the Rockies, a rural, public post-secondary institution in the Canadian Rocky Mountain area. My career was focused on the integration of appropriate technology for teaching and learning, and the use of technology to increase educational access.

I was also involved in several international projects, delivering workshops & training for curriculum development, in:

Kenya
Tanzania
Ecuador
Chile
Colombia

Evolving interests

I (mostly) retired in 2016 & moved to the smaller community of Hope, BC (Canada). Now I have more time to contribute to projects related to adult education outreach, online facilitation, and curriculum development in a variety of fields. I have a strong interest in projects which not only open up learning materials but also make them more welcoming to marginalized learners.

I love the energy of working with fellow educators & others who believe in the potential of free knowledge.Contributing to Wikipedia & Wikimedia is a natural fit for me.

Wikimedia projects for Seniors

A Wiki For Senior Citizens Network does exist, although it is not terribly active.

This article, published in the Education/Newsletter/October 2024, describes the 7th Senior WikiTown took place in Becov nad Teplou, Czech Republic

This article, written by Jan Sykora and published as a Diff blog post on November 21 2024, describes continuing activities for seniors in the Czech Republic: How Czech seniors enriched Wikipedia in 2023

The Czech Republic has also developed a comprehensive workbook: Senioři píší Wikipedii(in Czech) detailing the process of planning & delivering an intro to Wiki for Seniors. The workbook was developed by User:Janbery

[Wikimedia Academy] has plans to expand its gamified approach for seniors, too.

My Wiki experience

joined Wikipedia in 2006 (but didn't become very active until after retirement in 2016)
joined Wikimedia in 2018?
joined the Guild of Copyeditors
volunteered for the Wikipedia & Education User Group Mentorship Pilot, as both mentor & mentee (2021)

attended (& completed!) the Education Greenhouse Project with a detailed funding proposal project

User:Redwidgeon/EducationGreenhouseProject

This user is participating in the Wikimedia Education Project Management online course.

appointed to the Board of the Regional Committee for United States & Canada, part of the Wikimedia Regional Grants Committee (2021)
recruited as a volunteer juror for the AfroCreatives WikiProject (2022)

I contribute to Wikipedia & other Wiki- projects by:

writing lead paragraphs
assisting with copyediting
pitching in where I can (Wikignome work)
contributing a course: Curriculum Planning for Unfamiliar People in Unfamiliar Places, for Wikiversity
participating on the Wikimedia Foundation's Regional Funding committee (for US & Canada)

Outreach

I have conducted a number of workshops for public post-secondary faculty about Wikipedia:

Wikipedia: the overlooked & misunderstood resource (presentation for ABEABC Annual General Meeting & Conference 2018). This slidedeck was also licensed freely & posted to Wikipedia & Education resource page.
MicroCourse – Exploring a World of Open in the Wikiverse (BCcampus)
Open Options to Enrich your Career for BCcampus (including one full session on Wikipedia/Wikimedia opportunities)