Fulfilling your potential
In the decade since Bob Cummings asked Are We Ready to Use Wikipedia to Teach Writing?, the answer for hundreds of instructors has been a resounding “yes!” It’s easy to make a convincing case for using a Wikipedia assignment in the classroom. Writing a Wikipedia article teaches students valuable skills while offering an authentic experience. But … Continued
Teaching students how to communicate science
Thais Morata and Erin Haynes at the University of Cincinnati recognize the importance of students having robust science communication skills. So last Fall 2018, they incorporated a Wikipedia writing assignment into their course where students could expand Wikipedia pages about science topics that were interesting to them. The course, Communicating Your Science, “will enable students in … Continued
Radical African thought, revolutionary youth culture, and Wikipedia
Per Princeton instructor and African American Studies scholar Dr. Wendy Belcher, “African thought continues to be marginalized, even though radical black intellectuals have shaped a number of social movements and global intellectual history. African youths are innovating new models that are revolutionizing the sciences, law, social and visual media, fashion, etc.” She has taught multiple … Continued
Students write 50 Wikipedia biographies of women in STEM in less than a year
In Fall 2018, Dr Rebecca Barnes of Colorado College began asking her environmental science students to write Wikipedia pages for women scientists. In response, her students have risen to the occasion, producing a total of 52 new biographies for women in a wide variety of STEM fields since then. “I am excited for my students … Continued
Wiki Education publishes program evaluation update
In early 2018, Wiki Education piloted a new program, which we called Wikipedia Fellows, and which we’ve since re-launched as Wiki Scholars & Scientists. In the program, we empowered subject matter experts to contribute their knowledge to Wikipedia through a structured online synchronous 12-week course. We ran one course in early 2018, after which we … Continued
Student’s perspective “completely altered” after Wikipedia assignment
Emilee Helm is a student at the University of Washington. This term, she learned how to create and expand articles on Wikipedia as an assignment in Nathan TeBlunthuis’ Interpersonal Media – Online Communities course. Here, she reflects on what she got out of the experience. When I began working with Wikipedia, I could not have imagined I … Continued
Why Wikipedia often overlooks stories of women in history
Associate Professor Dr. Tamar Carroll and Librarian Lara Nicosia use our resources to teach students at Rochester Institute of Technology how to edit and create new Wikipedia pages related to women’s and gender history. Here they reflect on why having students improve the living, public archive is so important. Movements like #MeToo are drawing increased … Continued
Monthly Report, January 2019
Highlights Wiki Education hosted 2019’s first in-person board meeting in the Presidio of San Francisco in late January. On this occasion, board and staff celebrated Wiki Education’s fifth anniversary. We started third round of our Wiki Scholars professional development course with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Ten people from a wide range of … Continued
Make sure every woman in science has a Wikipedia bio
When young women see women in STEM succeed and thrive, they feel empowered to follow their passions into those careers as well. The gender imbalance of STEM fields is not only a daunting, self-reinforcing cycle, but also a barrier to new scientific discovery (diversity and inclusion make a difference!). It’s something that must be corrected … Continued
Wikipedia offers a solution for teaching critical media literacy
“I call my senators, I vote, I donate to the ACLU, and now, I edit Wikipedia.” Students lack the critical media skills they need to navigate our increasingly digital society. That’s what Stanford Graduate School of Education determined in their 2016 study of media literacy in youth. Participating students were unable to identify credible sources … Continued