The Wikipedia Assignment: Alleviating the “angst” of generative AI

Maura Hametz is a professor of history at James Madison University. She first incorporated the Wikipedia Assignment in fall 2025. Teaching is about knowledge acquisition.  AI is a tool for knowledge acquisition. So, why is generative AI the subject of so much angst for me and my students?  In my undergraduate upper division history classes, … Continued

Sources and Verifiability in the Age of AI

Oliver Wunsch is an associate professor in the Art, Art History, and Film Department at Boston College. A few months ago, a student stopped by my office at Boston College to discuss the sources for her Wikipedia Assignment research project. She was enrolled in one of the art history courses in which I ask students … Continued

AI and the Wikipedia Assignment: Q&A with Professor James

Whitney Lew James is an associate teaching professor in the University Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. James has incorporated the Wikipedia assignment into her courses since 2024. In the age of AI, has the Wikipedia assignment played a role in how you think about teaching research, source evaluation, and writing? If … Continued

“These women deserve to be remembered”

Avni is a senior majoring in biology at the University of Oklahoma. As part of her Wikipedia assignment this spring, Avni improved the Wikipedia article focused on Agnes Yewande Savage, the first West African woman to train and qualify in orthodox medicine. After graduating, Avni plans to pursue a career in healthcare. Of all of … Continued

The histories behind the hues: Students deepen Wikipedia’s coverage of colors

Gabriel Ashley is a recent graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he double majored in history and Italian. Through their Wikipedia assignments this spring, Gabriel and his classmates significantly expanded Wikipedia’s content about colors, adding information about the history and science behind specific shades. Curious about the first formal scientific investigation of … Continued

Wikipedia Made My Depressing Class More Rigorous

By Francisco Laso, Ph.D. Environmental Studies, Western Washington University A student once stopped me after class and said, flatly: “You know your class is deeply depressing, right?” He wasn’t wrong. I teach Extractivism and Its Alternatives in Latin America, a four-credit course that examines what happens when an economic system is built on removing natural … Continued

From local history to public knowledge: My experience in the 250 by 2026 Wiki Scholars course

Mike Pascoe is the President of the Lafayette History Museum in Lafayette, Colorado and associate professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Campus. When I enrolled in one of Wiki Education’s 250 by 2026 Wiki Scholars courses, I expected to learn how to edit Wikipedia more effectively. What I did not expect was how quickly … Continued

Change Is Uncomfortable: How the Wikipedia Assignment Moves Students from Knowledge Receivers to Knowledge Producers

Jennifer Bernstein, PhD Editor-in-Chief, Case Studies in the Environment Faculty, Texas Tech University In an eight-week, online introductory environmental science course, I assigned the Wikipedia assignment in lieu of a traditional research paper. Students selected an article from a list of geoscience terms and improved it through editing and contributing text, references, and media. My … Continued

UW senior creates new Wikipedia article on oil spill in Nigeria

Marketing and Information Systems major Tim Qian is a senior at the University of Washington. As part of his Wikipedia assignment, Tim created the new Wikipedia article on the 2008 Shell Bodo Oil Spill. Tim, creating a brand new Wikipedia article is a big deal! Why did you choose to work on this article?  In … Continued