Wikipedia pages are often the first resource that people turn to for finding information. However, Wikipedia articles related to aquatic science topics are difficult to read, poorly organized, or missing information. The primary mission of WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography (WP L&O; https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWikipedia%3AWikiProject_Limnology_and_Oceanography&data=02%7C01%7Cmadeline.hennessey%40uconn.edu%7Cd9fe283e27c24359233308d824b1a345%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637299692897322649&sdata=rmJMlyaR%2BDox1L1ZHlbJ62Arm1MiY8PdjHiaGQ5pt2g%3D&reserved=0) is to recruit and train a diverse set of editors to contribute open-access aquatic information to Wikipedia. Our WikiMedia-funded pilot program (https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmeta.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGrants%3AProject%2FWikiProject_Limnology_and_Oceanography%2Frecruiting_aquatic_editors&data=02%7C01%7Cmadeline.hennessey%40uconn.edu%7Cd9fe283e27c24359233308d824b1a345%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637299692897322649&sdata=sinHJeWYNyKCBvl6esQOJWWaHXhplrWmrv97mX57ua8%3D&reserved=0) will foster a natural synergy among scientists, educators, and motivated learners that will increase quality aquatic-related information on Wikipedia.
The pilot program is designed to train students to distill primary resources and add aquatic-related content to Wikipedia, an exercise that will improve writing skills and enhance engagement with classroom subject matter. The program will function similarly to a scientific journal, where a subject matter editor (coordinator) finds reviewers (professional aquatic scientists from WP L&O) to help improve content that was contributed by the authors (students participating in our pilot program). We aim to pilot this in 20 undergraduate classrooms.
Want to get involved?
As project coordinator, YOU can help fill this important knowledge gap! We are seeking a graduate student or postdoc in the aquatic sciences who will act as project coordinator. The classroom coordinator will ideally have experience in more than one aquatic discipline and would be comfortable recruiting experts to serve as reviewers. The workload will be roughly 5-10 hrs per week for 20-40 weeks, and the coordinator will be compensated at $30 / hr. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working remotely and will be able to begin work in July, 2020. We expect all coordinator work to be complete by June, 2021.
Expectations of the coordinator:
– Be comfortable working independently and communicating with diverse audiences
– Recruit additional instructors to pilot the program in their classroom in late 2020 and early 2021. the upcoming fall and/or spring semesters
– Collaborate with WP L&O project team to create instructional materials and Wikipedia editing lesson plan(s)
– Facilitate communication and sharing of ideas and challenges among instructors, students, reviewers, and the WP L&O team
– Organize and participate in regular group meetings throughout the academic year
– Identify and assign WP L&O articles needing improvement
– Match student articles with expert aquatic scientists from WP L&O
– Use and expand their professional network to recruit aquatic scientists to WP L&O as editors or reviewers
To get more information or apply:
– Please email Dr. Jake Zwart (jayzlimno@gmail.com)
– To apply, please send an email to jayzlimno@gmail.com, with the subject heading Ãf¢ÒÂEURÃ’ÂoeApplication for Wikimedia grant CoordinatorÃf¢ÒÂEURÃ’Â, and attach a document summarizing your interests and qualifications for this project (1 page maximum), plus attach a resume/CV. If you are a student, please also send a letter from your advisor confirming support for this role.