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User:MCruz (WMF)/Sandbox/Programs Toolkits/Education/Plan2

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Education Program

Planning your program

Starting an education program does not require extensive research, but you should invest some time reviewing best practices and resources in this toolkit as you plan your project. This section will prepare program leaders and educators do the following:
  1. Plan a pilot: test out new ideas on a small scale.
  2. Choose a program model: different models may work better or worse on your education system.
  3. Set reasonable goals: tracking your progress toward goals will help you understand what is working.

I want to rewrite the opener. Suggestions welcome.

  • Some copy that might help: Integrating Wikimedia successfully in a course or classroom requires some planning and research about best practices and resources. Use this toolkit to help you get started in planning your program.


Partnerships and participants

Education programs have a high potential for meaningful impact for students, educators, and Wikimedia users and editors. Students may benefit in many ways: research and writing skills, information and media literacy. Their contributions benefit Wikimedia projects and users around the world. Clear and transparent partnerships with education institutions and the community can do a lot for programs to gain traction in a local context. This section includes tips for how to:

  1. Start conversations with the community of editors on Wikimedia:
  2. Find educators and institutional partners:
  3. Get participants involved and motivated:


Finding resources for your programs
If you partner with an education institution that has space, equipment and internet access to train students, you can start a successful education program with very few additional resources. In fact, educators often become interested in using Wikimedia in the classroom because it is a low-cost way to teach students important skills.

In this section you learn how to get the resources you need, such as:

  1. Volunteers: Find online and offline volunteers to help support an education program.
  2. Training and outreach materials: Choose from existing training and outreach materials and learn about printing and localization.
  3. Grants and In-kind donations: Learn how to get resources donated by local partners and find funding guidelines for WMF grants.


Designing for growth
Good news travels fast. After you have completed a successful classroom collaboration there is a good chance that other educators will want to work with you.