Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Update/16 November 2010

NY Times asks students: How do you use Wikipedia?

"The Learning Network," a New York Times blog about education, runs a regular column that asks for student opinions -- and last week, one of the questions was: How do you use Wikipedia? More than 70 students wrote in, many giving impassioned explanations of how useful Wikipedia is in their lives. After posting a link on our Wikipedia Facebook page, however, we got more than 180 comments on the Facebook post. Want to chime in? Visit the New York Times' blog.

Campus Ambassadors needed for spring

The Public Policy Initiative team is busy ramping up for the spring term. We're actively recruiting outgoing people to serve as Campus Ambassadors, working in the classrooms to answer questions about Wikipedia in the spring term. Campus Ambassadors can be students, staff, faculty, alumni, or local Wikipedians -- the qualifications are that you are passionate about Wikipedia and you want to help teach in the classroom. The Public Policy Initiative is looking for people in the following cities: Troy, Alabama; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C.; Bloomington, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts; Lansing, Michigan; Bozeman, Montana; Camden, New Jersey; New York City and Syracuse, New York; Cullowhee, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Are you interested? Do you know someone who would be good? Contact Campus Team Coordinator Annie Lin at alin@wikimedia.org today!

New referencing handout now available

Students in the fall term of the Public Policy Initiative have been clamoring for more printed Wikipedia guides. The first of a new batch of reference materials is now available. "Referencing on Wikipedia" answers commonly asked questions, including why sources are necessary, what counts as a reliable source, can you combine information from multiple sources, and how to add a source as an inline citation. Download the PDF of the new handout.

UC Berkeley news covers Initiative

Two classes from the University of California at Berkeley are participating in the Public Policy Initiative, and recent coverage by the UC Berkeley News Center and the Daily Californian student newspaper highlight the work students are doing. For more information on the work the students at Berkeley are doing, check out the Daily Cal article or the News Center article.