User:Erkan Yilmaz/observations/2007 September

observations from Erkan Yilmaz for 2007 September

You are invited to add your comments (e.g. but my perception of this issue is different) - please sign anything you add (howto Signature).

2007 September 30 - one year anniversary at German Wikiversity & magic words

 * one year anniversary at German Wikiversity
 * So, how to celebrate the 1 year anniversary at de.WV ? Of course with importing pages from en.Wikibooks to en.WV :-) btw: normally I love pictures, but in the process of importing not so much :-(


 * useful magic words
 * meta:Help:Magic words, Using MediaWiki Variables

edit 2011-10-21:
 * Happy Birthdays never worked in any WV
 * Wikiversity Day
 * most interaction the first time in Wikiversity Day/2008

2007 September 29 - Wikimedia Conference Netherlands 2007

 * Wikimedia Conference Netherlands 2007:
 * Did you see already the Wikimedia Conference Netherlands for 2007 with the topic: "Wiki’s en education" ?
 * Some presentations worth to see (here is the complete list):
 * Wikiversity – learning the “wiki way”
 * Wikiversity – Wikimedia’s youngest project

2007 September 26 - live meeting ?

 * live meeting:
 * I have asked if some people from German Wikiversity want to meet live - let's see.

edit 2011-10-21:
 * did never work out

2007 September 25 - Wikiversity screen saver

 * Wikiversity screen saver
 * Today was released the Wikiversity screen saver to the public (go to the English and German version). Progress is ongoing also for the French version. And especially for my favorite not yet existing channel: the Greek one I would like to see this in use - I hope we can gather more awareness with this. I am also interested how this project will evolve over time.
 * edit 2007-09-25:
 * the French version fr:Wikiversité:Économiseur d'écran is nearly fully translated. Thank you Crochet.david and Sharayanan.
 * also the versions for the Spanish and the Italian Wikiversity are finished. Still in need for translation for the Wikiversity page though. If you know someone able to translate, tell her please.


 * edit 2007-09-29:
 * The Spanish version es:Wikiversidad:Protector de pantalla is now translated. Gracias to Johann and Lupus.
 * Thanks to Fede Reghe and Senpai the Italian version is translated: it:Wikiversità:Salvaschermo.


 * edit 2007-oct-03:
 * All wikiversities have now version 0.04 of the screen saver.

edit 2011-10-21:
 * the outcome was not much, probably Wikiversity the Movie could be better?

2007 September 23 - inter wiki cooperation & collaborative testing and fixing

 * nice inter wiki cooperation - fighting v.nd.l.sm:
 * alarmed by a de.WB user me - a mainly more WV active user - searched for someone to block this v.nd.l because no de.Wb admin online. With the help of en.WV admins the stewards were located and a french steward blocked the vandal - thank you all


 * collaborative testing and fixing:
 * how could one approach of collaborative testing and fixing look like on Wikiversity ? see here. Thanks again to Robert Elliott for informing us about this anomaly.

edit 2011-10-21
 * Robert still missing?
 * I think I had in the specific de.WB action more ulterior motives, which I also felt back then, not in terms of getting a position there, but it felt ulterior

2007 September 17 - German Wikiversity Slogan

 * German Wikiversity Slogan:
 * Voters are now required for the 4th and final round (21.09.2007 to 21.10.2007) to have an account at German WV and at least 51 useful edits. Happy voting
 * edit 2007-09-19: MF-Warburg was again helpful (see also 2007-09-13): he provided a tool to check if users are eligible to vote, more info here
 * edit 2007-09-21: last round of the voting has begun - my vote goes to "lernen und lehren" (learning and teaching) - my favorites over time can be seen here

edit 2011-10-21:
 * was a nice time back then, good interactions

2007 September 16 - reactions on reponse time pics & each IRC channel has its own "thing"

 * reactions on reponse time pics
 * About the response times (which I posted yesterday) I got already responses in the French, German and English (here so far only in #wikiversity-en) Wikiversities. Merci Sharayanan for translating it into French.
 * And as asked, I will repeat this data collection again.


 * edit 2007-09-17: feedback
 * edit 2007-09-22: the text in the Spanish Wikiversity is also translated now - gracias to Johann


 * each IRC channel has its own "thing"
 * If you stay long enough in one Wikiversity channel you will realize each channel has its own habbits (what they tell or do when they have some spare time or to greet new entering members,...). This helps that the team relations get stronger. Find out yourself for each channel what it is, I won't tell, even if you torture me :-)


 * A team is:
 * a social unit with 3 or more persons,
 * whose members are recognized from the outside as such members and they see themselves as members (identity)
 * they are integrated in an organization (context)
 * and they perform together tasks through direct collaboration/team work.

2007 September 15 - difference between Wikibooks and Wikiversity ? - service quality in the Wikiversity forums ?

 * What is the difference between Wikibooks and Wikiversity ?
 * Today German Wikiversity received again feedback in how WV differentiates from WikiBooks. This is not a single case, where people not involved in WV don't see the difference to WikiBooks (e.g. 10. Aug. 2007). Not to mention how many people even do not give feedback about this problem and just think it. I hope also that after the ongoing German WV slogan voting, it will become clearer. Since the slogan voting participation is not so much as hoped, I guess this process will also come the more people join German WV.


 * Can we tell something about the service quality in the Wikiversity forums ?
 * I was interested in how fast people get a response (I mean response, not a 100% fully satisfying answer) in the forums of each WV.
 * The decision was made for this heuristic to gather fast + easy data over all wikiversities.


 * used method:
 * from each WV forum there was determined when a user posted (e.g. can be a question, announcement, ...), this user type is called from now on asker. And then there was calculated the time how fast this asker got a response - persons answering are called repliers.
 * collection time: about 1,5 months (1st August 2007, 11:14 (UTC) - 15 September 2007, 14:51 (UTC))


 * considerations:
 * Besides the user (talk) pages or the different school/topic/class pages and their talk pages the forum is regarded as the central point of each Wikiversity.
 * It is not considered if the quality of the response is good or not or how fast later on it is answered again. So far of interest is only the first contact (response). Reason: normally in the beginning askers' expectations are stamped.
 * Of course due to different countries there may be different things to consider: e.g. different vacation times, ...
 * Also depending on the time of the edit (e.g. writing after midnight and then asker would get a response the next morning perhaps)
 * and more


 * Therefore again: it was decided for this heuristic to gather fast + easy data over all wikiversities. It is sure that there is missing info about the context - so inferring things from the pictures is not useful without knowing the context. And I bet few of us have the insight to all the info needed.


 * [[Image:How fast does a user get a response in the English Wikiversity forum (7 Aug. 2007 - 15 Sep. 2007).jpg|300px|left|How fast does a user get a response in the English Wikiversity forum (7 Aug. 2007 - 15 Sep. 2007)]]
 * [[Image:How fast does a user get a response in the different Wikiversity forums collection time is (1st August 2007 to - 15 September 2007).jpg|300px|left|How fast does a user get a response in the different Wikiversity forums collection time is (1st August 2007 to - 15 September 2007)]]

 edit 2011-10-21:
 * thankfully difference discussions abouts WB + WV are over :-)
 * service quality: well, WV has less contributors than e.g. WP, any help is nice (which does not make others leave)
 * I remember from back then some reservation against this service quality, thinking perhaps not starting it would have been better
 * showed some signs of snobism by me?

2007 September 13 - importing & contacting users again & #wikiversity-el bot unilinky

 * Import of pages:
 * I imported old Wikiversity pages from Wikibooks to here. This can end in much work, depending on the content (content check, link check, import files,...). I really hug from now on everybody who imports pages and not to forget the people importing in the past. BTW: the imported things were: School:Very Small Information Systems, The Great War and Versailles‎, School:Military Studies.


 * Contacting users again in the hope they come back:
 * Before deleting any pages it can be valuable to write the authors again. If you see there is no contribution since long time, write also an email. As you can see 2 out of 3 users reacted and one person is hopefully continuing participation in Wikiversity. Examples:,.


 * #wikiversity-el got its own bot unilinky:
 * Today #wikiversity-el got its own bot unilinky (thx to MF-Warburg). Well, slowly this new IRC channel comes close to the features of the other WV channels. Also we had a new record: 6 persons were in the channel.

2007 September 12 - IRC cloak & Greek Wikiversity

 * IRC cloak:
 * I am recommending everybody I met so far to get an IRC cloak. I got mine in 2 days. If you don't have one, get one.


 * Greek Wikiversity:
 * had just a nice long chat in the Greek WV channel. Topics: the new pic of the el.WV (momentary draft7 here). And longer chat about WV in general in comparison to normal research journals where article get published (OR NOT :-)). And about human greed.
 * While testing something with a Greek Wikiversity friend I set up my Greek Wikipedia account. And of course I got a very fast welcome message :-)
 * Greek Wikiversity proposal has also now my vote.

edit 2011-10-21:
 * cloak is not that important anymore
 * people can see my IP, I can also tell 'em if they want
 * I recommend helping in other WVs
 * it helps to get a broaden vision
 * learning by teaching

2007 September 11 - Uighur Wikipedia + administrator voting

 * Uighur Wikipedia + administrator voting:
 * I was asked to vote for the candidates for administrator at the Uighur Wikipedia. I have added some comments to all 3 candidates and also requested some mentorship and minimum requirements for the new admin. They have so far no admin at all :-(

edit 2011-10-21:
 * I think I had 1 to 3 more encounters in that category
 * mostly it was about fighting, what do those guys think now after 3 years?

2007 September 10 - my image of Wikiversity

 * my image of Wikiversity:
 * At the moment the German Wikiversity is searching for a slogan. I wanted to list what my favorites were so far over time (please remember that some of them could not continue for the next round, when there were not enough votes). But I hope this gives an overview of what I think of Wikiversity. Also I am curious what I will think when rereading this in the future. You know, with every day you get new emotions, ideas, ...

preferred slogans over time:
 * {| class="prettytable"

!date !German !English
 * May 18th, 2007
 * lernen, handeln, lehren
 * learning, acting, teaching
 * Es gibt noch viel zu lernen!
 * There is still much to learn!
 * Wikiversity die freie Lernplattform (nach Wikipedia Die freie Enzyklopädie)
 * Wikiversity the free platform for learning
 * Aug. 2nd, 2007
 * lebenslang? ja, lernen!
 * lifelong? yes, learning!
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * Sometimes questions are more important than answers
 * Sometimes questions are more important than answers
 * Gemeinsam Wissen schaffen
 * creating knowledge together
 * Man kann einen Menschen nichts lehren, man kann ihm nur helfen, es in sich selbst zu entdecken.
 * You can not teach a human, you can only help him, to find it in himself.
 * Aug. 15th, 2007
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * Lehren und Lernen (bzw. Lernen und Lehren)
 * teaching and learning (or learning and teaching)
 * Wikiversity - Gemeinsam Lernen, Lehren, Forschen
 * Wikiversity - together learning, teaching, exploring
 * Sept. 10th, 2007
 * Lernen und Lehren
 * learning and teaching
 * Bildung für alle
 * education for everybody
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * }
 * Aug. 15th, 2007
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * Lehren und Lernen (bzw. Lernen und Lehren)
 * teaching and learning (or learning and teaching)
 * Wikiversity - Gemeinsam Lernen, Lehren, Forschen
 * Wikiversity - together learning, teaching, exploring
 * Sept. 10th, 2007
 * Lernen und Lehren
 * learning and teaching
 * Bildung für alle
 * education for everybody
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * }
 * Bildung für alle
 * education for everybody
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * }
 * Was willst du wissen?
 * What do you want to know?
 * }
 * }

edit 2011-10-21:
 * strangely reading none of them gave the thrill from back then
 * I guess I'd focus on a term which focusses more on the individual learning part
 * because even for brick + mortar learning this is important
 * thought later was this

2007 September 08 - nice chats

 * nice start of day:
 * I got warm welcomes this morning in #wikiversity-fr, #wikiversity-el and #wikiversity-it - that is a great way to start the day. Well, since I only know a few sentences in Greek and less in Italian, this limits it to English in these channels. But in the French channel I have the opportunity to increase my French skills again. Merci a #wikiversity-fr !

2007 September 07 - audio conference & Where would you like to see Wikiversity in 6 months? & #wikiversity-el & #wikiversity-fr

 * audio conference:
 * Today I met two other custodians in an audio conference. I knew already one of the attendees voice from the Wiki editing tutorial on youtube.
 * But it makes much more fun, when you also get responses :-) The IAX client software MozPhone is another tool which lets you catch much better the atmosphere of Wikiversity.
 * Feedback about used technology: I had no technical setup problems with MozPhone. Also the audio quality seemed fine for me. Though for one participant there was a round trip delay.


 * I was asked "Where would you like to see Wikiversity in 6 months?":
 * (12:11:37)fast answer without thinking much: somewhere without v.nd.ls
 * (12:11:44)longer thinking will come now
 * (12:11:49)what do you think btw ? (note: I did not omit the answer, the person was just not available)
 * (12:13:29)only with word-of-mouth recommendation Wikiversity will grow
 * (12:13:46)so one way could be: using the forces with 100% to these target groups (teachers and their classes) could help WV
 * (12:14:15)so the answer would be: I would like to see more WV activities with mentoring teachers and their students. Everyone can do this actually, but we custodians - due to our experiences - have a great advantage, we can guide people better.
 * (12:14:15)so the answer would be: I would like to see more WV activities with mentoring teachers and their students. Everyone can do this actually, but we custodians - due to our experiences - have a great advantage, we can guide people better.


 * Addition later: of course there are other projects which are not generated from "old-style" school/universities like Bloom Clock. In general we should help everyone, but we are only few and the day just has 24 hours. To use an analogy: flowers need to be cared for intensively, so they will shine and attract the bees :-) And while scanning Wikiversity in daily routine we can filter the flowers which need attention.


 * The birth of a new Wikiversity channel - #wikiversity-el:
 * Today you missed the birth of the new Greek Wikiversity channel: #wikiversity-el
 * There is also a proposal ongoing to create a Wikiversity in Greek language. Until then you can have a peak here for the Greek Wikiversity main page.


 * In case you wonder how long it takes to set up an IRC Wikiversity channel: it is 1,5 minutes :-)
 * at #wikiversity
 * (17:15:09) alternatively I wonder how we could create an el channel
 * (17:16:11)you just type in: /j #wikiversity-el
 * (17:16:13) not so difficult I think
 * (17:16:25) but I have no experiance with this
 * (17:16:30) maybe that's worth it... let me see.
 * (17:17:41) so, person3, did you get that? join the #wikiversity-el channel.
 * (17:18:39) ok


 * at #wikiversity-el
 * (17:16:39)- You are now in #wikiversity-el
 * (17:16:40)- person1 joined
 * (17:16:44)hello
 * (17:16:47) Geia sas
 * (17:16:51)oh no :-)
 * (17:17:08) Γεια, και τώρα περιμένουμε τον τρίτο... :-)
 * (17:17:08)I will just stay as observer here - see you
 * (17:17:16)- person2 has set the topic: The greek IRC channel
 * (17:17:56)- person3 joined


 * the friendly #wikiversity-fr people:
 * I must say the French are very nice people. Though they did not know me, they welcomed me friendly.
 * And since my French language skills are not as good as my English, they did not mind to talk in English.
 * Merci Sharayanan, ZeqL, Karl1263, dcrochet

edit 2011-20-21:
 * strangely I use audio less lately
 * el.WV chat very empty
 * still true: fr.WV people friendly, but also other WV people :-)
 * see also Brick and mortar collaboration at beta

2007 September 06 - IRC part2

 * IRC is great:
 * I like IRC, doesn't matter when you come online, always somebody around. This makes all wiki projects much more vivid. I thought I knew WV, but with IRC you get much more to know - how things REALLY work. As JWSchmidt said, people new to WV should use IRC more. One goal is now to get peoples attention to it.

2007 September 03 - IRC & en.WV

 * use IRC as much as you can:
 * I am using IRC as communication medium very often when communicating with Wikiversity participants (e.g. with JWSchmidt - my custodian mentor). I think without this, it would be harder to get to know e.g. the atmosphere of English Wikiversity. Though :I am already custodian at German Wikiversity, there are great differences in both WVs.


 * about different timezones:
 * I have also noticed, that the different timezones of the custodians can be also an advantage. While some custodians get their earned sleep, the others are able to continue (helping new members, ...). :So we can offer nearly a 24h service. Remember we all do this because we believe in the wiki system - not for money.


 * There is definitely more happening in English WV (e.g. see some statistics until today - 2007 September 3rd):

edit 2011-10-21: after 3 years...
 * still valid that people should use chats
 * differences between de.WV + en.WV (more open)