Adding biographies of female oceanographers
Laura Guertin is a Professor of Earth Science at Penn State Brandywine in Media, Pennsylvania. She recently participated in the 500 Women Scientists Wiki Scholars program and reflects on her experience with the Wikimedia community in this guest blog post. As a scientist and educator Wikipedia is a resource that has always been on my … Continued
Wiki Education participants improve COVID-19 local response articles
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the United States, residents are seeking information about their local governments’ responses. Local newspapers are often a great source for the most recent news, but it’s hard to get a big picture of the pandemic’s impact on states, cities, and regions from reading a daily newspaper. Wikipedia, however, provides … Continued
Monthly Report, May 2020
Highlights In May, we launched a Wiki Scientists course in partnership with 500 Women Scientists, facilitating as 20 members of 500 Women Scientists learned how to expand Wikipedia’s biographies of women in STEM. Thanks to a high demand from their members, we have continued searching for additional funding to support more women scientists as they … Continued
Special Olympics staff improve Wikipedia’s equity
Jamie Valis is the Director of Health Training at Special Olympics, Lindsay Dubois is the Director, Research and Evaluation at Special Olympics, and Chelsea Fosse is a public health dentist, former Coordinator of the Clinical Director Community of Practice at Special Olympics, and Senior Health Policy Analyst at the American Dental Association. Jamie, Lindsay, and … Continued
Improve Wikipedia’s 2020 election-related articles
The November election is coming up in just over three months, and while the presidential race will dominate headlines, there are a lot of statewide and regional district races and ballot measures that will also appear on ballots. Informing citizens on the issues and candidates on their ballots in a neutral, fact-based way is critical … Continued
Shining a light on hidden figures with Wikipedia—a collaboration
Dr. Anna Lappala is an Instructor at Harvard University and Dr. Julia Dshemuchadse is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. They recently took part in the APS Wiki Scientists Course—a partnership between the American Physical Society and Wiki Education. A second edition of this course is now accepting applications. Women are still wildly outnumbered in … Continued
TJ Bliss joins Wiki Education’s new Advisory Board
TJ Bliss, Chief Academic Officer at the Idaho State Board of Education and former Chief Advancement Officer at Wiki Education, has been appointed to Wiki Education’s new Advisory Board. TJ is the first member of Wiki Education’s Advisory Board that is tasked with increasing Wiki Education’s reputation and network for revenue generation. He will work … Continued
How Wikidata might help the Smithsonian with its mission to diffuse knowledge
Clara de Pablo is a Fellow in the Office of Communications and Marketing at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She enrolled in Wiki Education’s introductory Wikidata course to learn more about how to apply linked data practices to her work. My involvement with Wikidata began — as all great stories do — with … Continued
UBC student creates article on missing genus
In the spring 2020 academic term, higher education around the world shifted from in-person to virtual classes. The University of British Columbia was no exception, but for students in Dr. Shona Ellis’s Morphology and Evolution of Bryophytes class, the switch wasn’t as challenging as it could’ve been, because a key assignment was to improve a … Continued
Participating professor wins President’s Award for Innovative Teaching
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard has done it again! In 2019, Dr. Sheppard received two awards for her innovative pedagogy and her outstanding leadership at Missouri University of Science and Technology where she is Associate Professor of History and Political Science. She was awarded the Faculty Experiential Learning Award specifically for her use of the Wikipedia assignment in her … Continued