Re-imagining global Korea: the art of protest and social change
As the protesters in Hong Kong continue to make their voices heard, society becomes increasingly aware of how important it is to educate ourselves on the changes and developments outside of our own countries. A protest in a country such as China or unincorporated territories such as Puerto Rico have a ripple effect that can … Continued
Who’s interested in learning to use Wikidata?
We’re excited to announce the start of two new Wikidata courses, currently in progress. There is one intermediate course and one beginner course. We couldn’t be more pleased with the course participants. They have ambition, passion, and plenty of curiosity that will make for some exciting conversations. Learn more about them and their hopes for … Continued
Instructors receive awards for Wikipedia work in the classroom
From the very beginning, we’ve had our champions — students, faculty, and institutions alike — who have recognized what a Wikipedia writing assignment can achieve for student learning and for the world. Thanks to word-of-mouth, as well as the great work these individuals have accomplished using our resources (work that speaks for itself), more and … Continued
Channeling passion into action: NSPN Wiki Scientists
“The public looks to Wikipedia to make informed political decisions. If I can make that information more accurate and complete, that’s a good use of my time.” When the National Science Policy Network (NSPN) announced that they would be sponsoring a course with us for early career scientists to add science policy information to Wikipedia (in … Continued
Incorporating Wikipedia as an experiential learning activity in an editing course
Melony Shemberger, Ed.D. is Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at Murray State University. Here she provides a framework for teaching Wikipedia writing assignments in the journalism classroom. When I agreed to teach News Editing for the Spring 2019 semester, I went into full throttle to plan for a course that I had not … Continued
Monthly Report, September 2019
Highlights This month we launched two new courses with two new partners! First, a 12-week course with the National Science Policy Network as part of its 2020 Election Initiative. Wiki Scientists are learning to contribute to Wikipedia in order to improve articles on scientific subjects relevant to the 2020 election. The neutral, well-sourced, fact-based material … Continued
Ugandans writing their own story of family planning
Wikipedia aspires to collect and distribute the sum of human knowledge, but systemic barriers prevent the realization of this goal. Barriers to editing Wikipedia are highest in the Global South, where internet access can be sporadic or nonexistent, and people have less leisure time to contribute as unpaid labor. The entire continent of Africa (1.2 … Continued
Learning about Islamic art and architecture through Wikipedia
The Islamic world has created many of the knowledge and inventions we see nowadays, such as coffee, algebra, and possibly the paper mill. Islamic art and architecture has also been highly influential throughout the world. The students of Boston University instructor Dr. Emine Fetvaci’s Islamic Art and Architecture class reviewed content in this topic area, paying attention … Continued
Writing Latina artists into Wikipedia
What if students could help raise the visibility of artists of color across decades through a single assignment? In the case of Dr. Nicole Strathman’s students at UCLA, learning how to write Wikipedia biographies for Latina artists is accomplishing just that. “In exploring the diverse artistic contributions, interventions, and aesthetic experiments by women in Latin … Continued
An instructional designer’s thoughts on Wikipedia
Johnathon Neist is an instructional designer at the Medical College of Wisconsin who incorporated Wiki Education assignment templates and tools into a recent course. Here, he shares why he thinks others should get their students involved in the Wikipedia movement. I recently co-directed a Wiki Education-supported class with Dr. Amin Azzam aimed at getting medical … Continued