Greetings from the Hack the Canon: Women in Design Wikipedia-edit-a-thon at Sydenham Library in the Sydney Inner-west. Speakers are Olivia Hyde, Director of Design Excellence, NSW Government Architect; Zoë Sadokierski, senior
lecturer, School of Design at the , University of Technology Sydney; and Cathy Lockhart industrial designer and academic. Thee will be wikipedia editing to follow and the event goes until 4pm, so come along.
Showing posts with label wikipedia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wikipedia. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Wikipedia Citizenship
Apparently I have become a Wikipedia citizen, without realizing it. I received an invitation to vote in the ArbCom Elections 2016. I was going to delete the e-mail thinking it was some sort of spam. But because I have made more than 150 Wikipedia edits, I can help select who is on the Arbitration Committee. Will there be post-Truth campaigns for candidates, like a real election? ;-)
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wikimedia in Higher Education Symposium in Sydney
The University of Sydney is hosting a free one-day "Wikimedia in Higher Education Symposium" 5 April 2013, on the use of Wikipedia for teaching in universities. Speakers include Toby Hudson, School of Chemistry, (USYD), Kerry Kilner, Research Fellow, School of English, Media Studies and Art History, University of Queensland (UQ), Liam Wyatt, Queensland University of Technology, James Neill, University of Canberra, Kathryn Barwick and Mylee Joseph (State Library of New South Wales).
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Wikipedia-like Travel Guide Launched
Monday, November 26, 2012
Wikimedia Australia Education Workshop in Indonesia
Wikimedia Australia is organising LangCamp 2012 in Depok, Indonesia, 6–7 December 2012, to foster non-English wikis. This includes The "Open educational resources" (OER; Sumber pembelajaran terbuka) for universities.
In my view Wikimedia's approach to online education is far more useful than all the hype about Massively Online Open Courses (MOOCs).
ps: It happens I was at UIN Suska University of Riau (Fakultas Sains Dan Teknologi, Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau), a few weeks ago, discussing an Indonesian version of my ICT Sustainability course.
In my view Wikimedia's approach to online education is far more useful than all the hype about Massively Online Open Courses (MOOCs).
ps: It happens I was at UIN Suska University of Riau (Fakultas Sains Dan Teknologi, Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau), a few weeks ago, discussing an Indonesian version of my ICT Sustainability course.
Friday, September 14, 2012
2012 Australian Paralympic Team Book
John Vandenberg, President of Wikimedia Australia, has created a book collecting up all the materials on the "2012 Australian Paralympic Team". This is available free online as a PDF Download, or an ODT Word-processor File (a Printed Book can also be purchased). Wikimedia Australia's volunteers took on the task of documenting the 2012 Australian Paralympic Team and this book is one of the results of the effort of many people (who are listed in the book).
This Wikipedia book (or Wikibook) is created from a collection of Wikipedia articles and each time someone requests a book it is generated afresh from the latest version of the Wikipedia.
One problem is that Wikibooks can be large. The Paralympic book is about 90 Mb. The HTML format used for the web is usually very efficient in the use of file space and so I examined the book file to see what the problem was.
I downloaded the ODT version of the book and unzipped it to examine the source files. The images take up about 90% of the space. There are then hundreds of small images, which are flags of countries and clip art of medals. There are a few milt-megabyte images, which are photographs of the athletes.
There appears to be a problem with the book generating tool, resulting in duplicated images. As an example, each time the image of a medal is in a Wikipedia entry, a new copy of the same medal image is included in the book. But only one copy of each image should be needed.
Also the photographs of athletes are included in the book at high resolution. This is useful for high quality printing, but wastes space for on screen viewing. An option for using smaller versions of the images would be useful.
Perhaps Wiki-HQ could make some changes to the book generating software. Removing the duplicated images would seed up the book creation process on the server and download time, as well as reduce the file size for the user. As an example, image optimization should reduce the Paralympic book from 90 Mbytes to less than 15 Mbytes.
This Wikipedia book (or Wikibook) is created from a collection of Wikipedia articles and each time someone requests a book it is generated afresh from the latest version of the Wikipedia.
One problem is that Wikibooks can be large. The Paralympic book is about 90 Mb. The HTML format used for the web is usually very efficient in the use of file space and so I examined the book file to see what the problem was.
I downloaded the ODT version of the book and unzipped it to examine the source files. The images take up about 90% of the space. There are then hundreds of small images, which are flags of countries and clip art of medals. There are a few milt-megabyte images, which are photographs of the athletes.
There appears to be a problem with the book generating tool, resulting in duplicated images. As an example, each time the image of a medal is in a Wikipedia entry, a new copy of the same medal image is included in the book. But only one copy of each image should be needed.
Also the photographs of athletes are included in the book at high resolution. This is useful for high quality printing, but wastes space for on screen viewing. An option for using smaller versions of the images would be useful.
Perhaps Wiki-HQ could make some changes to the book generating software. Removing the duplicated images would seed up the book creation process on the server and download time, as well as reduce the file size for the user. As an example, image optimization should reduce the Paralympic book from 90 Mbytes to less than 15 Mbytes.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Wikimedia Australia Strategic Plan
The President of Wikimedia Australia, John Vandenberg, gave an overview of the Wikimedia Australia Strategic Plan at RCC2012 in Canberra today. Wikimedia is looking to employ some professional staff to help with outreach to the community. As well as run its own events, Wikimeida participates in joint events, such as the Meta 2011 Conference. One additional activity is to promote the creation of Wikipedia content about Australia.
Contents
[hide]
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Acknowledgements
- 3 Who we are
- 4 Programmes
- 4.1 Part 1: Core
- 4.2 Part 2: Important programs
- 4.2.1 Consolidate: Discover and keep new Australian users
- 4.2.2 Consolidate: Organise and support "real life" events
- 4.2.3 Consolidate: Identify and improve key Australian content
- 4.2.4 Consolidate: Recognise contributions
- 4.2.5 Consolidate: Take responsibility for Foundation resources in Australia
- 4.2.6 Grow: Develop regional Australian outreach
- 4.2.7 Grow: Digitise key Australian culture works
- 4.2.8 Grow: Maintain GLAM momentum
- 4.2.9 Grow: Support key Asia-Pacific language groups
- 4.2.10 Grow: Outreach to universities
- 4.3 Part 3: The future
Monday, November 21, 2011
Open Access for On-Line Education
Last week I commenced the course Assessment, Evaluation and Learning EDU5713, at University of Southern Queensland, via e-learning. One technique I have found useful to supplement the materials provided for the course, is to first look up terms in the Wikipedia and the search for materials in Google Scholar. Wikipedia generally provides a brief, easy to understand overview of the topic and Google Scholar provides authoritative papers (it is not a good idea to cite Wikipedia in your assignment).
As an example the Wikipedia entry for Assessment_for_Learning is very readable and the Google Scholar Entries are useful.
One way Google Scholar could be improved would be with an "Article Available" option. It is frustrating to have numerous articles listed, but then find most are behind pay-walls, so that it is not possible to read more than the abstract, without paying a fee or signing up to a service. I Suggest adding an extra option "Article Available" to allow only those articles where the text is available on-line without the need for payment or signing in.
It would also be useful to have the same open access options (for looking for articles with Creative Commons and similar licenses), as in the non-scholar advanced search, would also be useful.
While institutions, such as USQ, provide access to on-line papers via their library, it is much easier for the staff and the students, if freely available articles are selected for readings. This way the student does not need to login to the university library system to get to the article.
ps: Surprisingly on the topic of e-learning, many of the papers found are from Australian authors. This may be because the Google search engine, seeing I am in Australia is giving me local results, or that doing an Australian course I am searching on topics of particular interest to Australians. But it may be just that Australia is a leader in e-learning.
As an example the Wikipedia entry for Assessment_for_Learning is very readable and the Google Scholar Entries are useful.
One way Google Scholar could be improved would be with an "Article Available" option. It is frustrating to have numerous articles listed, but then find most are behind pay-walls, so that it is not possible to read more than the abstract, without paying a fee or signing up to a service. I Suggest adding an extra option "Article Available" to allow only those articles where the text is available on-line without the need for payment or signing in.
It would also be useful to have the same open access options (for looking for articles with Creative Commons and similar licenses), as in the non-scholar advanced search, would also be useful.
While institutions, such as USQ, provide access to on-line papers via their library, it is much easier for the staff and the students, if freely available articles are selected for readings. This way the student does not need to login to the university library system to get to the article.
ps: Surprisingly on the topic of e-learning, many of the papers found are from Australian authors. This may be because the Google search engine, seeing I am in Australia is giving me local results, or that doing an Australian course I am searching on topics of particular interest to Australians. But it may be just that Australia is a leader in e-learning.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Next Recent Changes Camp in New Zealand
Greetings from the last day of of Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra at the University of Canberra. The last topic of conversation was were the next event would be and what would be the theme. Suggested was the topic of "research" in New Zealand in mid 2011. One possible area which will be interested is the NZ Ministry of Education and Webstock.
Also what was discussed was another event for Australia. The consensus was to stick with education themed events for Canberra and new themes elsewhere, such as art in conjunction with This is Not Art in Newcastle.
What struck me was that there were people from several nations in the room discussing the use of Wikis, when the subtext was differences in culture. Perhaps that should be made the explicit discussions of scope for different cultures online.
Also there was discussion of the next Wikimedia Australia conference proposed for Adelaide. This would have formal academic double blind reviewed papers. An interesting aspect of this is how the wiki ethos can be melded with formal academic publishing practices. As an example, it is usually a condition for submitting papers for a conference that they have not previously been published and can be blind reviewed, which could preclude preparation of the paper using a public wiki. It would be interesting to see how the traditional formal review process which is built into packages such as OJS could be combined with a Wiki.
Also what was discussed was another event for Australia. The consensus was to stick with education themed events for Canberra and new themes elsewhere, such as art in conjunction with This is Not Art in Newcastle.
What struck me was that there were people from several nations in the room discussing the use of Wikis, when the subtext was differences in culture. Perhaps that should be made the explicit discussions of scope for different cultures online.
Also there was discussion of the next Wikimedia Australia conference proposed for Adelaide. This would have formal academic double blind reviewed papers. An interesting aspect of this is how the wiki ethos can be melded with formal academic publishing practices. As an example, it is usually a condition for submitting papers for a conference that they have not previously been published and can be blind reviewed, which could preclude preparation of the paper using a public wiki. It would be interesting to see how the traditional formal review process which is built into packages such as OJS could be combined with a Wiki.
Bruce Declaration on Education
Greetings from the last day of of Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra at the University of Canberra. Yesterday we discussed "Wikis for Open Education", including in a podcast. Day three was to be about coming up with proposals "Bruce Declaration on Education". The idea was to produce a statement of principles on education, which could encompass how technologies such as wikis could be used, but not limited to the mechanics of how that is done.
The declaration is intended to inform current government inquiries into education and into the NBN. Policies, programs and funding could then be provided to have services directly to students, resources for teachers and for educational institutions.
There is a vigorous discussion taking place over formal and informational education, the role of teachers and institutions. As a former bureaucrat, I wanted to start from existing formal statements, such as Article 26 on the right to education of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (General Assembly of the United Nations, December 10, 1948). This is heavily loaded with decades of political baggage, but the original principles are very relevant to the application of Internet to education:
The process used was also interesting. We sat in the open area of the UoC "Teaching Space" using a video projector and Meeting Words and Wikiversity for group preparation of a document. Each of us sitting on the leather lunge chairs could use WiFi on our netbooks and tablets. Text entered into MeetingWords by anyone was immediately avialable to everyone and displayed on the wall screen. This text was tidied up and then pasted to the Wikiversity. This worked well but was an exhausting process and we could not keep this up for more than about 20 minutes.
We started to get stuck at the point of proposing concrete projects. Here is my wish list:
The declaration is intended to inform current government inquiries into education and into the NBN. Policies, programs and funding could then be provided to have services directly to students, resources for teachers and for educational institutions.
There is a vigorous discussion taking place over formal and informational education, the role of teachers and institutions. As a former bureaucrat, I wanted to start from existing formal statements, such as Article 26 on the right to education of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (General Assembly of the United Nations, December 10, 1948). This is heavily loaded with decades of political baggage, but the original principles are very relevant to the application of Internet to education:
- Article 26
-
- (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
-
The process used was also interesting. We sat in the open area of the UoC "Teaching Space" using a video projector and Meeting Words and Wikiversity for group preparation of a document. Each of us sitting on the leather lunge chairs could use WiFi on our netbooks and tablets. Text entered into MeetingWords by anyone was immediately avialable to everyone and displayed on the wall screen. This text was tidied up and then pasted to the Wikiversity. This worked well but was an exhausting process and we could not keep this up for more than about 20 minutes.
We started to get stuck at the point of proposing concrete projects. Here is my wish list:
- v-ALTC: In my view there is scope for putting in programs to replace the Australian Learning and Teaching Council which the Prime Minister cancelled last week. There could be a grass roots online version of ALTC, based on the approach taken by EdNA. I suggest a modest $10M over ten years.
- v-Schools: The example of upper secondary schools in the ACT aalso providing vocational education and community facilities such as libraries could be emulated. I suggest $1B over ten years to set up new and remodelled educational facilities in Australia.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wikis for Open Education
Greetings from the second day of Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra at the University of Canberra. This afternoon's second session on "Wikis for Open Education" is being podcast by "Talking VTE".
Wikipedia defines Open education as ".. a collective term that refers to educational organisations that seek to eliminate barriers to entry". The barriers can be formal academic admission requirements. Open University UK and Athabasca University in Canada are given as examples. E-learning is commonly used for this (a version of my Green ICT Strategies course is offered by Athabasca).
Leigh Blackall suggested using the term "open networked education" so I did a search for this and found "Workshop for Australian education policy" which is described as "An experiment in pulling the materials together to work on open networked education policy...".
Mentioned in discussion was the "Khan Academy", a not-for-profit US based educational body. Perhaps another to mention is the Lalit Kala Akademi (Kala National Academy of Arts India).
It seems to me that Montessori approach to school design can be applied across the educational school, vocational and university sectors.
The discussion then got onto the professionalism and certification of teaching. I don't see this as a bad thing. A technology based society needs competnet people to keep things working. Despite romantic notions of the apprentice learning at the feet of the master, teaching is a skill which needs to be learnt.
Wikipedia defines Open education as ".. a collective term that refers to educational organisations that seek to eliminate barriers to entry". The barriers can be formal academic admission requirements. Open University UK and Athabasca University in Canada are given as examples. E-learning is commonly used for this (a version of my Green ICT Strategies course is offered by Athabasca).
Leigh Blackall suggested using the term "open networked education" so I did a search for this and found "Workshop for Australian education policy" which is described as "An experiment in pulling the materials together to work on open networked education policy...".
Mentioned in discussion was the "Khan Academy", a not-for-profit US based educational body. Perhaps another to mention is the Lalit Kala Akademi (Kala National Academy of Arts India).
It seems to me that Montessori approach to school design can be applied across the educational school, vocational and university sectors.
The discussion then got onto the professionalism and certification of teaching. I don't see this as a bad thing. A technology based society needs competnet people to keep things working. Despite romantic notions of the apprentice learning at the feet of the master, teaching is a skill which needs to be learnt.
Wikis for Vocational Education
Greetings from the second day of Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra at the University of Canberra. This afternoon's session on "Wikis for Vocational Education" is being podcast by "Talking VTE". Leigh Blackall mentioned Making the Invisible Hand Visible. The Case for Dialogue About Academic Capitalism by Susan Awbrey. One institution mentioned which maintains a mix of commercially orientated and personal self development course was the Tasmanian Polytechnic.
I suggested that educators need to educate the community. In response it was mentioned that the Productivity Commission is having an inquiry into the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector (submissions close 28 February 2011). Also there is the "Higher Education Base Funding Review".
"Electronic Engagement: A Guide for Public Sector Managers" by Dr Peter Chen (2007) discusses some of how to make these views made. This in part comes from his PHD Thesis "Australia's online censorship regime" (2000). Peter interviewed me for his thesis in how I helped make a submission to a Senate inquiry.
I suggested that educators need to educate the community. In response it was mentioned that the Productivity Commission is having an inquiry into the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector (submissions close 28 February 2011). Also there is the "Higher Education Base Funding Review".
"Electronic Engagement: A Guide for Public Sector Managers" by Dr Peter Chen (2007) discusses some of how to make these views made. This in part comes from his PHD Thesis "Australia's online censorship regime" (2000). Peter interviewed me for his thesis in how I helped make a submission to a Senate inquiry.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Do your PHD through Wikiversity
In the last session of Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra
at the University of Canberra Leigh Blackall demonstrated how he was using Wikiversity for his PhD. I was sceptical as to the value of this and if it would be accepted by formal university processes. Leigh pointed out that there were several Examples of PhDs using Wikiversity. These ranged from a relatively traditional approach where the PDH thesis is put on the Wiki at the end of having been written, to one where the notes and work in progress is put in the wiki and publicly available from the start.
at the University of Canberra Leigh Blackall demonstrated how he was using Wikiversity for his PhD. I was sceptical as to the value of this and if it would be accepted by formal university processes. Leigh pointed out that there were several Examples of PhDs using Wikiversity. These ranged from a relatively traditional approach where the PDH thesis is put on the Wiki at the end of having been written, to one where the notes and work in progress is put in the wiki and publicly available from the start.
Wikis for Education
The second session at Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra
is on "Wikis for Education". This is a topic I did not think I knew much about, but realised I had run two courses were I got the students to edit the Wikipedia, one is 2007 was Writing for the Web for Local Government and the other Electronic Document Management: Course for government staff. In these I had the students edit or create a Wikipedia entry for their organisation. Government staff were reluctant to edit the Wikipedia, saying they were lot allowed to. I had to reassure them it was okay for the purposes of the course. With a little practice they became comfortable with this.
One issue which came up is open access Creative Commons type licensing for educational materials. The Austrlaian Government has adopted a policy for open access to materials, as have some state governments, particularly Queensland. Universities in Australia are government funded, but so far there is no policy requiring, or encouraging open access. There are such policies for research publishing, where open access is encouraged, but not for education.
An example of a more "open" approach is the Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Canberra.
One tool mentioned which breaks out of the linear text model is SpicyNodes.
There was some discussion of how Moodle 2 allows integration of external tools.
is on "Wikis for Education". This is a topic I did not think I knew much about, but realised I had run two courses were I got the students to edit the Wikipedia, one is 2007 was Writing for the Web for Local Government and the other Electronic Document Management: Course for government staff. In these I had the students edit or create a Wikipedia entry for their organisation. Government staff were reluctant to edit the Wikipedia, saying they were lot allowed to. I had to reassure them it was okay for the purposes of the course. With a little practice they became comfortable with this.
One issue which came up is open access Creative Commons type licensing for educational materials. The Austrlaian Government has adopted a policy for open access to materials, as have some state governments, particularly Queensland. Universities in Australia are government funded, but so far there is no policy requiring, or encouraging open access. There are such policies for research publishing, where open access is encouraged, but not for education.
An example of a more "open" approach is the Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Canberra.
One tool mentioned which breaks out of the linear text model is SpicyNodes.
There was some discussion of how Moodle 2 allows integration of external tools.
Wiki culture in the shadow of Wikipedia
The first session at Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra
is on "Wiki Culture". Some issues discussed were the dominance of Wikipedia, resulting in culture ways online.
is on "Wiki Culture". Some issues discussed were the dominance of Wikipedia, resulting in culture ways online.
Recent Changes Camp 2011 Canberra
Greetings from Recent Changes Camp 2011: Canberra
at the University of Canberra, an informal symposium on anything to do with Wikis. There are 21 of us at the event. About a third are from the university, most of the others are from other Canberra universities. There are also some from interstate and overseas.We are in the Learning Commons, Level 2, Building 1 of UoC (just above the refectory). All are welcome to come and join in the discussion.
The event runs until Sunday afternoon. At present the first session on "WikiCulture" is under-way. We have three rooms available in the very new and very well equipped commons, so have space for three sessions. So far on the agenda are:
Friday:
Wikis for Education/Assessment/ Postgraduate/Wikipedia, Wikis for Printing/Replace WP, Wikis for Fun, Appropedia.org
Saturday:
Extended WIki Editing/why wikis don;t work/structure in wikis, Wikitravel/Gender mix (more males use wiki), Key facilitation for wikis/wikis for non-computer people, Wikis in Vocational Education and Training/Resources for Education
Sunday
Referencing and appraising scientific literature/Wikinews/More Wiki Conference, Why isn't Wiki a bigger social platform/Advanced skills/Bots
at the University of Canberra, an informal symposium on anything to do with Wikis. There are 21 of us at the event. About a third are from the university, most of the others are from other Canberra universities. There are also some from interstate and overseas.We are in the Learning Commons, Level 2, Building 1 of UoC (just above the refectory). All are welcome to come and join in the discussion.
The event runs until Sunday afternoon. At present the first session on "WikiCulture" is under-way. We have three rooms available in the very new and very well equipped commons, so have space for three sessions. So far on the agenda are:
Friday:
Wikis for Education/Assessment/ Postgraduate/Wikipedia, Wikis for Printing/Replace WP, Wikis for Fun, Appropedia.org
Saturday:
Extended WIki Editing/why wikis don;t work/structure in wikis, Wikitravel/Gender mix (more males use wiki), Key facilitation for wikis/wikis for non-computer people, Wikis in Vocational Education and Training/Resources for Education
Sunday
Referencing and appraising scientific literature/Wikinews/More Wiki Conference, Why isn't Wiki a bigger social platform/Advanced skills/Bots
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Flexible digital search techniques
The ANU Research School of Humanities & the Arts is hosting "Flexibly Digital", 1-2.30 pm, 24 September 2010, at the Australian National University in Canberra. This is in conjunction with the National Centre of Biography's Life of Information symposium.
Friday Forum 2010 - Flexibly Digital
Date: Friday, 24 September 2010, 1:00pm- 2:30pm
Venue: Hedley Bull Centre, HB2, Australian National University, CanberraPresenters:
Dr Kerry Taylor, CSIRO ICT Centre
Basil Dewhurst, Trove project, National Library of Australia
Facilitator:Dr Paul Arthur, National Centre of Biography
Donald Hobern, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
A special forum held in conjunction with the National Centre of Biography's Life of Information symposium. The thick, descriptive data of humanities research and the strict categorization of digital databases are not natural partners. Current developments in data representation are breaking down these barriers. This forum discusses the theory and practice of flexible digital search techniques.
Entry to the forum session is open (just drop in).
Details of the: Life of Information symposium
Friday, August 20, 2010
Life of Information in Canberra
The Australian National University is hosting a free symposium on "Life of Information: on the design and use of online dictionaries, encyclopaedias and collections" in Canberra, 24 September 2010.
Life of Information
A one-day symposium on the design and use of online dictionaries, encyclopedias and collections
Date: Friday, 24 September 2010,9am to 4pm, lunch is provided
Venue: Hedley Bull Centre, Australian National UniversityPresented by the National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
Convenor: Paul Arthur, Deputy Director, National Centre of Biography and Deputy General Editor, Australian Dictionary of Biography
Register now by email: paul.arthur@anu.edu.au
* Attendance is free but places are strictly limited.Graduate students who use online resources in their research, or are interested in the future of digital scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, are especially welcome to participate.
Life of Information flyer (PDF 430 Kb)
FEATURING:
Atlas of Living Australia
Austlit: The Australian Literature Resource
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Medical Pioneers Index
Defining Moments
Dictionary of Sydney
Encyclopedia of Australian Science
Gallipoli: The First Day
Invisible Australians
Mapping Our Anzacs
Obituaries Australia
People Australia & TroveSPEAKERS:
Katherine Bode — Lecturer in English, University of Tasmania. From 2011, Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities, Australian National University.
Ross Coleman — Director of Sydney eScholarship at the University of Sydney Library, which provides digital archiving and publishing services to the University.
Basil Dewhurst — Project Manager, Australian Research Data Commons Party Infrastructure Project, National Library of Australia.
Stephen Due — Chief Librarian at Barwon Health, Victoria, and Editor of the Australian Medical Pioneers Index.
Emma Grahame — Editorial Coordinator, Dictionary of Sydney project.
Ian Johnson — Director of the Archaeological Computing Laboratory and Deputy Director of the Digital Innovation Unit, University of Sydney.
Tim Sherratt — Digital historian and web developer known for his work on innovative digital projects with national collecting institutions.
Kerry Taylor — Research Scientist at the CSIRO Information and Communication Technologies Centre.
Monday, June 14, 2010
WikiReader Wikipedia eBook Reader
Officeworks are selling the WikiReader Wikipedia eBook Reader for AU$98. This is an eBook preloaded with a copy of the Wikipedia. It has a 3.5 inch monochrome LCD touch screen. The unit has a microSD card slot, allowing an update of the wikipedia to be loaded. The latest update is Wikipedia English Spring 2010 (4.7 GB).The unit is from Openmoko who were developing the Openmoko Linux for the Neo 1973 smartphone. The Wikireader runs Forth.
Specifications:
- Display: 3.5" LCD (scratch resistant glass)
- Touchscreen & on-screen keyboard
- Removable microSD card (SD & SDHC supported, 512MB, 4GB, 8GB sizes supported)
- No internet connection required
- Battery Life:
- ~ up to 90 hours
- ~ 2 AAA batteries
- 90 days warranty
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
e-Learning Course on Green ICT Strategies: Part 14 - Wikiversity version
In Part 13 I prepared the remaining content for a new e-learning course on "Green IT Strategies", to be offered as part of the ACS Computer Professional Education Program. The Wikiversity, an educational equivalent to the Wikipedia, has an Information Technology school, so I added and entery for "Green IT" and "Introduction to Green IT" based on the material I prepared for the ACS course. I am unclear as to exacltly how the Wikiversioty functions, if it does function at all, but thought it might be worth making a contrbution.
The Wikiversity does not seem to have reached the point at which there is enough content to attract people to add more. Many of the entries are only stubs: with just a heading waiting for someone to fill in the details. Also there seems to be a lack of integration with the Wikipedia. You can use the same user-id for updating the Wikipedia and Wikiversity, but you have to add an external reference from the Wikiversity to the Wikipedia. The result is that it is difficult to use the Wikipedia content to build the Wikiversity.
The Wikiversity does not seem to have reached the point at which there is enough content to attract people to add more. Many of the entries are only stubs: with just a heading waiting for someone to fill in the details. Also there seems to be a lack of integration with the Wikipedia. You can use the same user-id for updating the Wikipedia and Wikiversity, but you have to add an external reference from the Wikiversity to the Wikipedia. The result is that it is difficult to use the Wikipedia content to build the Wikiversity.
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