AWA Anglophone Bi-weekly Webinar :  Creating Courses on Wikiversity

On June 19, 2024,  Code for Africa’s African Wikipedia Alliance (AWA), hosted its 2nd bi-weekly webinar for the Anglophone community titled “Creating Courses on Wikiversity.” The online meetup was facilitated byLee Beaumont, an Independent Researcher from New Jersey, USA and moderated by Bukola James, the Community Coordinator of AWA. The session had 19 participants, including project leads and volunteer Wikimedians from Botswana, Nigeria, and Rwanda. It provided participants with the opportunity to plan, design, develop, and create a new Wikiversity course titled the  Great Books of Africa, an extension of the Great Books .

Key Highlights

The webinar, facilitated by Lee, began with a summary of the previous session on the “Introduction to Wikiversity” and then moved on to the learning objectives of this session which included planning, designing, developing, and creating a new Wikiversity course on the “Great Books of Africa.” Lee further explained the Great Book tradition, design considerations, and course development. He outlined several key design considerations which include the following:

• Language: Chosen based on the course or the author’s language.
• Author Background: Consider heritage, experience, culture, authenticity, notoriety, and impact.
• Time Period: Include prehistory, antiquity, post-classical period, early and late modern, pre-colonial, colonial, postcolonial, modern times, contemporary relevance, and future outlook.
• Regions and Cultures: Use geographic or physiographic approaches, official and indigenous languages, and historic approaches.
• Literary Forms: Incorporate fiction, myths and traditions, sacred texts, histories, poetry, plays, oral literature, biographies, and philosophies.
• Representing Lost Manuscripts and Oral Histories: Ensure these are included and preserved.

Lee emphasised that to develop the course, certain steps must be followed:

• Project Management: Organise the project efficiently.
• Assembling the Team: Bring together a team of advisors and contributors.
• Structure: Define the structure of the course.
• Choosing Lists: Select the books to be included.
• Per-book Entries: Create detailed entries for each book.
• Relax, Reflect, and Repeat: Continuously improve the course.

Following his explanation, a draft for the “Great Books of Africa” course was created which is currently being developed by AWA members, aiming to compile a list of 100 books. So far, 23 books have been added, and the list is still expanding.

Conclusion

The session concluded with a Q&A segment, where participants had the opportunity to ask questions and seek further clarification on the topics discussed. Lee offered words of encouragement, urging participants to actively engage in the Wikiversity platform by creating courses and essays. He stressed the importance of initiating the “Great Books of Africa” course to close the diversity gap in the existing “Great Books” course he developed. This engaging and informative webinar not only equipped participants with the necessary tools and knowledge to contribute effectively to Wikiversity but also prepared them for the course creation. The session fostered a sense of community and collaboration among Wikimedians, with a shared goal of developing the “Great Books of Africa” course and promoting open education in Africa.

For those interested in revisiting the session or those who might have missed it, the recorded version is available on the community programmes page and do well to test your knowledge on our academy Africa. Ensure you are registered for the upcoming CfA WiR Bi-weekly webinar and immerse in our vibrant community. To stay abreast of our initiatives, complete this form, and let’s shape the future together!