WikiLearn/O sila na beta puta

WikiLearn, ikpo mmuta okwu n'efụ n'ịntanetị nke ndị otu mmepe obodo na Wikimedia Foundation mepụtara, apụtala n'oge nnwale beta ya. Ọ nwekwara nnukwu atụmatụ ọhụrụ: ntụgharị asụsụ ọdịnaya.

Ntọala

N'ihi mkpa ndị ọrụ afọ ofufo Wikimedia gosipụtara, nakwa atụmatụ ntinye ego na nkà nakwa mmepe ndu, otu mmepe obodo nke Wikimedia Foundation hụrụ maka mmepe nke usoro mmụta n'ịntanetị, nke dabeere na ngwaahịa Open edX nke bu ngwaaro efu, iji jeere Wikimedia niile ozi.

Atụmatụ a bụ WikiLearn dị na beta n'afọ gara aga ma ọ bụ karịa, ebe e mere ọtụtụ ihe ọmụmụ na ya. Anyị dị njikere ugbu a iwepụta ikpo a n'ozuzu ya pụọ na beta ma dị njikere maka imeputa ọmụmụ ihe ndị ọzọ ma bụpụtakwa ya n'ọha.

Ntụgharị asụsụ ọdịnaya

E nwere ike ide akwụkwọ mmụta mara mma n'asụsụ ọ bụla, anyị niile nwekwara ike ịmụta n'aka ndị ọgbọ anyị na ndị ọrụ ibe anyị gburugburu ụwa. Ọ dị anyị mkpa na ikpo okwu a, na-akwado ịmepụta ọdịnaya n'asụsụ ọ bụla (nke Open edX na-akwado site na igbe) nakwa na-enye ohere ịsụgharị usoro ọmụmụ dum site n'otu asụsụ gaa na nke ọzọ. Anyị achọghịkwa inwer ntụzịaka ntụgharị asụsụ nke ndabara (dịka site na Bekee gaa na asụsụ ndị ọzọ). N'ikwu ya n'ụzọ ọzọ, anyị chọrọ ka usoro ọmụmụ ọ bụla, nakwa asụsụ ọ bụla, bụrụ nke e nwere ike ịsụgharị gaa n'asụsụ ọ bụla ọzọ.

Translation for course content was not an existing feature in Open edX, so we were faced with two main options: either to develop a full-featured translation infrastructure, of the level of sophistication Wikimedians have come to expect, in Open edX itself, or to come up with a way to rely on our existing translation system on Meta.

After much consideration, we chose the second approach: we commissioned the development of a mechanism in Open edX that "marks" a course for translation into a given language, which then exports the entire course contents (in small units), including video subtitles, to Meta, to be translated with the familiar translation interface on Meta, and to then be automatically pulled back into the WikiLearn platform, where the course author can review and accept translations. (The review step is a simple defense against automatically applying vandalized translations to ongoing courses.)

This feature itself is brand-new, and still is in beta, as we are only beginning to test it. One design limitation it has is that only course authors (or WikiLearn site admins) can initiate the translation of a particular course into a particular language. This means that if you see a course you would like to translate, and isn't already being translated, you have to contact the course author or the WikiLearn team to ask that the course be made translatable into your language. We hope this would be a trivial technical step, and if it turns out to be too cumbersome, we will consider automating or semi-automating it, budget permitting.

What does this mean right now?

First, it means the platform is ready for more learners to take the courses already available. You can browse the course catalog and enroll in courses, logging in using your Wikimedia account (via OAuth, no password necessary).

Secondly, it means the platform is ready for more courses to be developed and deployed on it. If you are interested in developing training curriculum on some topic (from a short module to a complete course), you are welcome to get in touch with the WikiLearn team to discuss your plan, outline the curriculum and learning goals, and get access to the content-authoring part of the platform ("Studio"). The platform welcomes any learning and training content relevant to an audience of Wikimedians (as distinct, for example, from elementary school arithmetic or high-school civics). Such content can be technical skills (e.g. "how to do batch uploads to Commons", "Programming bots using PyWikiBot"), social or non-technical skills (e.g. "Introduction to Public Speaking", "How to Write a Press Release", etc.), or wiki-cultural (e.g. "Introduction to the German Wikipedia's Notability Policy").

Thirdly, you can help by translating one of the existing courses into another language. See the available courses and target languages in the translation dashboard on WikiLearn. If you would like to translate a course not yet available for translation, or into a language not yet listed, recruit at least two other volunteers interested in translating that course into that language, and write to the WikiLearn team.

Finally, you can help make the user interface of the Open edX platform itself available in more languages (currently 19 languages are enabled and selectable from the language dropdown on the platform), by contributing translations to the Open edX project on Transifex (not a Wikimedia site).

What next?

The next major piece of work for developing the WikiLearn platform is defining the platform's governance: being a non-wiki platform, we cannot automatically rely on existing wiki processes, and need to figure out how to share power ('admin' status on the platform) and enforce conduct (including blocking repeat offenders) with trusted volunteers. Right now, the Community Development team members are the only admins on the platform, but we would like this to change as soon as possible, that is, as soon as we come up with definitions and processes.

We would like to develop these governance principles for the WikiLearn platform in conversation with the communities. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement about that conversation, which will take place on Meta.

Questions?

Questions are welcome on the talk page.