Learning patterns/Connectivity issues

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One of the most common activities our movement does are workshops. In these activities, we expect people to learn how to edit on Wikipedia and face the main challenges in a direct approach. However, sometimes the connection of the venue is deficient or simply non-existent. This is very relevant especially when we organize events in remote places.

Usually, we face the problem of an extremely low Internet access, which makes almost impossible to teach how to use Wikipedia (in some cases, it is a miracle if a Wikipedia article appears!). This situation irritates the participants because they can do nothing on the website. At the end it produces an inverse effect and it makes less probable that the attendees become editors.

• Try the connection before: Visit the venue before the event takes place. Talk with the person in charge of the technological infraestructure and ask for the capacity of the venue. Be clear! Say how many people will be attending, if they will be using their own laptops or using desktop PCs. If you ask if there is WiFi connection, they probably will say "Yes!" but it is different to have WiFi connection than accept 20 or more different computers.
• Mobile hotspot: If the worst happens and you don't have a good connection, bring a mobile phone or a tablet able to share Internet connection to other devices. Certainly, this won't be a perfect solution but at least can help the access of some participants.
• Groups: If the internet connection have problems handling with so many users, make them participate in groups. This way, the connection should be faster and the participants will be able to try Wikipedia. It could be interesting if you can made them participate together, discuss about the articles ("what does it mean that the neutrality of an article is disputed?" for example) and even make some healthy competition between the groups.