The Wiki Education Foundation has known that classroom assignments are a great way to improve content. When it comes to underrepresented topics on Wikipedia, students can make real, meaningful impacts.
Here’s a great example from students in Dr. Laura Horak’s Topics in Cinema and Gender course at Carleton University. These students shared their knowledge about female directors and filmmakers. For example:
- Shirley Barrett: A student expanded an article on an Australian film director, which had languished as a stub for four years. Starting from a single line of biography and a list of films, they included information on her work and important themes.
- Miwa Nishikawa: Working on pre-existing article, another student editor fleshed out the biography of this award-winning Japanese screenwriter and director. Her works include Wild Berries, which earned her two “Best New Director” awards and a “Best Screenplay” award in Japan. There’s now more information about her films and her writing career.
- Nancy Grant: A student created a new article about this English-Québécois film producer, who produced more than 27 short and feature-length films. The article makes use of images from Wikimedia Commons to illustrate their work
- Fanta Régina Nacro: The first female film director from Burkina Faso, Fanta Régina Nacro is known for the 2004 film La Nuit de la Verité (Night of Truth).
Thanks to these students for their fantastic contributions to Wikipedia!
Photo:”16mm filmhjul” by Holger.Ellgaard – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
