Welcome to a new edition of WikiLearn News! Read below to find three Wikipedia online courses you can join today and get inspired by the impact of Wikimedia Morocco’s teacher training programs.
What’s WikiLearn?
WikiLearn is a free online learning platform by and for the Wikimedia movement. It offers quality online courses created by Wikimedia affiliates, experienced organizers, and partner institutions that foster social learning and recognize learners’ achievements. The platform is managed by the Community Development team and it’s available in multiple languages.
Three online courses you can take today!
WikiLearn’s catalog is growing with new learning opportunities to strengthen your Wikimedia editing skills. Check out just three examples below:
If you’re an English Wikipedia editor looking for a deeper dive into Wikipedia’s content policies, check out the modules of the new “Wikimedia Core Curriculum”. From its instructor:
“The Wikimedia Core Curriculum is a set of instructional modules designed to teach complete beginners the basic principles needed to successfully integrate into the Wikipedia editing community. It focuses on teaching the core content policies of English Wikipedia and it will support editors to thrive and remain active and valued volunteers.”
If you’d prefer to brush up on your basic Wikipedia editing skills or help a newcomer in their journey, it only takes 3-4 hours to complete the “Introduction to Wikipedia” video course. This is what you’ll find:
“In this course you’ll be guided through how to use Wikipedia, the world’s largest free online encyclopedia. We’ll cover logging in, editing an article, adding references, and everything to get you started on Wikipedia. By the end of this course, you should have a good understanding of how Wikipedia works and feel confident to edit and contribute to it. Some of the skills you will learn include: How to create a Sandbox to practise editing; How to add new articles to Wikipedia; How to translate articles into another language.”
Finally, if you’re an educator, parent, or guardian interested in keeping youths safe in online environments, then the “Safety for young Wikimedians” course might be an interesting one for you. From its instructor:
“This course is designed for adult community members, parents, family members, guardians, teachers and the like who engage with or support minors around their Wikimedia activities. This course is tailored to help you understand and address the needs and challenges that minors face when participating in Wikimedia projects and the broader movement, both online and in-person. Adults play a crucial role in fostering a safe and supportive environment for young Wikimedians. By taking this course, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to protect and support minors effectively. This includes understanding the risks they may encounter, learning best practices, and knowing how to respond to and report concerns or incidents.”
Affiliate spotlight: Wikimedia Morocco
For Wikimedia Morocco, moving their “Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom” program to WikiLearn in 2023 was a turning point. Since then they’ve become one of the Wikimedia affiliates most actively using WikiLearn to overcome limits of time and distance, and they’re opening their courses to teachers across the Arab world.
We reached out to Rachid Ourkia, program coordinator for Wikimedia Morocco, to learn more about their efforts. With more than 1,000 teachers enrolled and over 100 graduates in their latest online course, the team is now dreaming even bigger. Their goal is to continue expanding their Education programs through WikiLearn, empowering more teachers to become confident editors, and building a community that fosters knowledge (and celebration!) without borders.
Rachid tells us that with its flexible, self-paced learning, multimedia lessons, and automated certificates, WikiLearn is helping shape their Education programs to be more accessible and scalable. Teachers have shared heartfelt feedback about discovering new ways to use Wikipedia with their students, and even more importantly, about finding a community. This is because the Wikimedia Morocco team is also investing in learning experiences that have an impact far beyond the virtual classroom and from a shared learning journey, the program has sparked connections and joy that no one expected.
Hear more from Rachid’s own words in the recording below:
How can you take advantage of WikiLearn?
Find the right opportunity for you and your community:
- As a learner: Browse the Catalog to find open self-paced courses, you only need a Wikipedia account to enroll!
- As a course creator: If you’re an experienced organizer or part of a Wikimedia affiliate interested in hosting a course on the platform, use this short form to send your proposal.
- As a translator: You can also help make courses available in new languages! If you’re interested in translating any existing courses on WikiLearn, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team.
Share feedback about your experience on WikiLearn via comdevteam@wikimedia.org – we’re always happy to hear from you!
📣 Stay tuned for the next edition of WikiLearn News coming in a few months!
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