If you’re an academic experiencing writer’s block, never fear! Our Wikipedia writing courses give you tools to counteract two important types of block. The first is typical of many writing professions: having trouble putting something to paper. The second type is more unique to academia and has some dire, real-world consequences: difficulty explaining complex topics … Continued
Not only do economic fields recruit too few women, but progress in engaging women in economic programs and careers has stalled in the United States in recent years. That’s a problem, but one that students at the University of British Columbia are helping solve. During spring 2019, Dr. Marina Adshade assigned students in her “Women in the … Continued
Effective communication of expertise is essential in any job market. Within the sciences in particular, communicating to the general public presents real-world implications, especially in impacting the public’s health and voting decisions. Practicing writing for diverse audiences “outside of the academic silos” is valuable. Where better to practice it than on Wikipedia where the public … Continued
How better to have students practice science communication than by having them explain course topics to a general audience of millions? Dr. Amy Carleton, an instructor in our Student Program, has won MIT’s Teaching With Digital Technology Award this year for her approach to teaching thoughtful and impactful science communication. The student-nominated award recognizes “instructors who have effectively … Continued
What can students do to fix Wikipedia’s gender gap? Turns out they can do a lot. University and college instructors who use our resources to teach Wikipedia writing assignments have their students work on a diverse range of subjects on Wikipedia — from anthropology to zoology. Not only do students expand Wikipedia’s coverage of academic topics … Continued
History books often focus on the white change-makers of the suffrage movement. Until last month, it was no different on Wikipedia. The article documenting the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited governments from discriminating against voters on the basis of sex, not only centered the narrative on white people, but on white men. In order to ensure … Continued
What happens when ordinary people speak up in acts of resistance? What about when other people tell those stories of protest on the world’s most visited encyclopedia? Dr. Jennifer Chun’s course at UCLA explores Protest and Social Change in East Asia. “Protests have taken the form of historic mass mobilizations as well as everyday acts … Continued
This spring, students in Dr. Amy Carleton’s Advanced Writing in the Sciences at Northeastern University created lots of new Wikipedia articles as an assignment. The new articles include topics like tissue engineering of heart valves, extremophiles in biotechnology, Bilophila wadsworthia, Boston University CTE Center and Brain Bank and food safety in the United States. Tissue engineered heart valves are prosthetic heart valves that, unlike … Continued
Institutions know that Wikipedia is educating the world about the topics they care most about. Many want to understand how they can get involved in curating that information so it paints the most up-to-date and accurate picture of these topics. Thais Morata, a research audiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), … Continued
