Based on your course or discipline, completing a Wikipedia writing assignment can achieve so many meaningful outcomes: from helping close the gender gap, to documenting dying species or languages, to researching important new scientific discoveries. There are also plenty of learning objectives and selling points that we see fulfilled over and over again, no matter the course. And no one can talk about all of these positive experiences better than the students themselves. See for yourself!
It’s great for expanding writing and research skills
“I cannot stress enough how much I learned from this project,” writes Sienna Stevens about Dr. Rachel Miller’s Baroque Art class at California State University Sacramento. “I truly believe it gave me a chance to push myself, my writing, and my research skills.” Read more…
Writing for a large audience builds confidence in one’s own voice
Hilary Wilson told us that writing for Wikipedia inspired confidence and motivation. “I learned to appreciate the pages I look at everyday for fact-checking. To think that random people created every single article out of the kindness of their heart brings me joy.”Read more…
It’s satisfying to contribute to a resource used worldwide
Kitty Quintanilla, a medical student at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, shared her personal story for why she’s passionate about increasing access to free information. Read more…
Derek Smith, a medical student at the UCSF School of Medicine, wrote about counteracting misinformation by making sure Wikipedia’s article about vaccinations represents current scientific research. Read more…
Understanding how Wikipedia works is a necessary digital literacy learning
Alliana Drury, an undergraduate student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, urges educators in higher education to adopt Wikipedia writing assignments after she completed one herself. “Many students including myself were told that Wikipedia has no place in the classroom and that it was not allowed to be used as a source because it was unreliable. I find this argument abhorrent and outdated.” Read more…
It’s gratifying that all that hard work lives on
Emilee Helm, a student at the University of Washington, wrote about how much the Wikipedia assignment she completed in Nathan TeBlunthuis’ course affected her. “I could not have imagined I would be so satisfied with my experience. I was able to gain confidence and develop a final product that I am undoubtedly proud of.” Read more…
And it’s not every day that a student takes the time to officially thank their professor for a great project. But that’s what Madeleine Hardt, Dr. Jennifer Glass’ student at Georgia Institute of Technology, did after learning how to write Wikipedia pages for her Earth sciences course. The thank you came in the form of a certificate of appreciation issued through Georgia Tech’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Read more…
Plus, it’s fun
Just ask Kai Medina! He learned how to add content to Wikipedia in a marine biology course last spring and he’s still editing 8 months later, adding content, photos, and field recordings related to his ecology studies at university and abroad. Read more…
Interested in adapting a Wikipedia writing assignment for your own course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org for access to our free assignment templates and tools.
