User talk:Adhe536ontario2008

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Hello, Adhe536ontario2008! Welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions to this free encyclopedia. If you decide that you need help, check out Getting Help below, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Please remember to sign your name on talk pages by clicking Image:Signature icon.png or using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your username and the date. Finally, please do your best to always fill in the edit summary field. Below are some useful links to facilitate your involvement. Happy editing! Kimse (talk) 05:17, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
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[edit] Education

Just a note: There's also a Wikiproject Education in Canada. GreenJoe 14:33, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. Not sure on how to join that group. Added {{Template:User Education in Canada}} to userpage as per instructions on Wikipedia:WikiProject Education in Canada page under Participants. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 22:00, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Keep in mind that joining that WikiProject implies that you're willing to do some work on articles within the scope of that project (for example, high schools in Ontario, EQAO-related articles etc.) Mindmatrix 23:00, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
Checked the page and yes, willing to do some work (e.g., I've already added a table & completed some editing with the List of universities in Ontario. I'm assuming Universities & Colleges (& related topics (e.g., student loans)) are home based here. If not, is there a different project that is a closer fit? My interest is mainly in postsecondary education across Canada. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 05:03, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
None that I know of. Of course, since this is a Wiki, you can commit as much or as little time as you'd like to this, and you can always withdraw from it if it doesn't match your interest. Come to think of it, my note above was somewhat irrelevant. Mindmatrix 15:35, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Text on your userpage

To answer your question, the text is appearing on your userpage because you are transcluding the template {{User Education in Canada}} onto your page. That's a fancy way of saying you've asked the software to make a copy of that template into your page, by including the code {{Template:User Education in Canada}} or {{User Education in Canada}}. Delete that code, and the text will disappear.

Speaking of which, what's the purpose of this template. It isn't consistent with other Wikipedia templates, and I'd like to delete it since it seems to serve no useful purpose, but I thought I'd ask first. If the intent is to provide a standard format to begin articles, then this is an inappropriate use of Wikipedia templates. We can discuss how this is done, if you'd like. (PS: Please answer here, I'll keep a watch of this page.) Mindmatrix 23:00, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Deleted the code in my user page. Have no idea how that template was created (by accident?). Yes, please do delete the template... it was never meant to be a template. At some point, I'd like to learn how to make one properly. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 23:40, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
Another editor alerted me to the fact that template title was originally intended as a user template for the Education in Canada WikiProject, and has now converted it into its intended use. This may be what you had intended on including on your user page; take a look: {{User Education in Canada}}. Mindmatrix 02:54, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Great, it's fixed now. Thanks Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 05:05, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Help for your project

If you and your classmates would like some help with your project to ensure your articles are consistent with Wikipedia policies and guidelines, feel free to leave messages at Wikipedia talk:Canadian Wikipedians' notice board and we'll give you a hand. There are many active editors that follow discussions there.

For formatting of articles, a good (though long) source of info is the Manual of Style. Please pass these messages along to your classmates too. Mindmatrix 23:32, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much! I'll pass along the information to the class in a matter of minutes because we're in class now. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 23:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I've posted an update on the Canadian Wikipedians' notice board regarding the whole project to provide some visibility. In addition, I've passed along to my classmates what I've learnt while wikifying the Higher education in Ontario page. If possible, please let me know if I've tagged that page correctly for getting feedback on quality/importance (I'd like to know which areas to focus my improvement efforts).—Preceding unsigned comment added by Adhe536ontario2008 (talk • contribs)
I'll reply there so others may follow that discussion. Mindmatrix 15:35, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Quick review of Higher education in Ontario

I've read over most of this article, and thought I'd provide a few point-form notes about it:

  • headers should use lowercase (except leading cap.) almost always; exceptions including proper nouns
  • watch out for fair use of Crown copyright images (eg - Trillium logo should not be used on the article)
  • don't use other Wikipedia articles as references; in this article, references used include Official bilingualism in Canada, John Milloy, List of universities in Ontario, List of colleges in Ontario and Canadian Federation of Students; it appears you have secondary source references already, so these are superfluous
  • when citing a web page as a reference, consider using the {{Cite web}} template; this isn't a necessity, as your formatting is quite valid, but it does automate a few things
  • don't create lists of links to other websites, such as in the Funding section; to get around this, write relevant prose, and use the links as references where appropriate
  • don't include a glossary - this info can be incorporated into the main text, with appropriate links to other WP articles
  • eliminate the quick facts section - this can probably be incorporated into the intro section as prose

These are the major issues. Let me know if you need help with, or clarification of, any of this. Mindmatrix 15:13, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

BTW, I just added a link to the header above; this is OK for talk pages, but should not be done on articles. Mindmatrix 15:15, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Thank you very much for your feedback! I've edited the page to reflect your notes and will keep those guidelines in mind. A quick clarification on the Trillium logo: I located it at [[Image:Ontario2007.gif]] and read the page that acknowledges Crown copyright and permission to use for non-commercial purposes. I've read the tighter restrictions within the Fair use policy. Is the logo not applicable because of the "No free equivalent" criteria or because Wikipedia is considered a commercial use? The intent of its use was for the image to help distinguish the infobox as a representation of the ministry. It is not absolutely necessary for the page but I'm curious to understand why it shouldn't be used. I won't repost unless it's appropriate. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 01:01, 7 June 2008 (UTC)
The primary reason is that Wikipedia is licenced using the GFDL, which explicitly states that commercial use of content is acceptable. Crown copyright does not permit this, so all Crown copyright material must be used within the Fair use scope. (Note that this applies to the US only; Canada has "Fair dealing", which is stricter, and other countries...well, I don't know.) This means that each use of a particular object, such as an image, must have an explanation of why it satisfies the fair use criteria for each instance in which it is used (eg - for each article). It also implies that Crown copyright material is not acceptable hard-coded into templates (with some exclusions).
PS: it looks like you may have been trying to link to the image, but had the image appear in the page instead. To prevent this, precede the link with a colon, like so [[:Image:Ontario2007.gif]], which displays as Image:Ontario2007.gif. This is also useful to link to categories (otherwise, you'd be including the talk page in the category) and templates (instead of transcluding the template into the page). I hope this is a helpful tip!
BTW: the article looks much better, and is easier to read now. If it wasn't more than five days old, I'd nominate it for an entry to appear in Did you know? Mindmatrix 02:24, 7 June 2008 (UTC)
Thanks for the details. Makes sense re: logo/fair use. I'll read about templates before asking more questions. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction re: tips on the article, it certainly would have taken much longer without your help. I have time to improve it further, so I'm open to any other suggestions. Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 03:47, 7 June 2008 (UTC)
If you're willing, create articles about topics related to this one. Here are a few new article suggestions :
  • Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities
  • Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities (or redirect to above)
  • Canada Learning Bond
  • Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
As far as updating the article, I would remove the infobox, since it's specific to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, not the broader scope of higher education in Ontario. Spend some time looking for good quality images to include (browse a few Ontario higher-ed articles, such as University of Toronto, and you're likely to get a good set; try the commons too - you can link to those images as if they are hosted by Wikipedia).
In terms of content, the history section needs expansion - I think there's lots that can be said here, though it'll require access to sources that may not be readily available. Demographic info would be useful - showing the trends of higher education in the population (by count, and per capita) throughout the past century, and perhaps demonstrating trends in vocational choices too (eg - decline of mining and agricultural training, increase in information sciences and research). Inter-provincial and international credit and program recognition. Undergraduate and graduate studies (demographics, fields, funding, etc.). Research and its funding. Program collaborations between universities (one example is Waterloo and Laurier). How new fields of study are founded and funded (eg - nanotechnology), and criteria used for such.
There's quite a bit in that list - my preference would be for expanded history and demographic data, and adding images. Mindmatrix 15:30, 7 June 2008 (UTC)
Thanks for your great suggestions! I'm willing to create some new articles after tuning up the first article. I've removed the infobox (will reuse that with the new Ministry article), added some photos (although they can be swapped if better ones are found), and started expanding the history section (I'll do some research and come back to that later this week because I need to wrap up a couple of other projects first). Adhe536ontario2008 (talk) 01:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)