Remembering the unnamed women of history as a Wiki Scholar

Dr. Bridget Marshall is an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and recently completed one of our Wiki Scholar courses with faculty at her institution. The Wikipedia training course is part of an initiative at UMass Lowell to build digital literacy teaching capacity and address the gender gap on campus and in Wikipedia. … Continued

On becoming a Wiki Woman Scientist

Dr. Jyoti Patel is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU School of Medicine. She recently completed our Wiki Scientists course with the New York Academy of Sciences. Growing up in the UK during the 70s, long before the Wikipedia era, I was fortunate to have received a completely free education. I … Continued

The value of being a Wiki Scientist

Within academic circles, Wikipedia is often looked down upon, and is not considered a credible source of information. Yet, it is one of the most widely visited websites in the world and is often the first link to pop up when you conduct a typical Google search of a topic. With much of scientific information … Continued

How to share an oral history collection more widely

Jake Kubrin is Metadata Librarian at the Stanford Law School Robert Crown Library who recently completed our intermediate-level Wikidata training course. Here he shares what linked open data makes possible for his work. The American Bar Association (ABA) began conducting a series of oral history interviews of leading women lawyers, judges, and legal professionals in … Continued

Wikipedia as a platform for Science Policy

Daniel Puentes is a Graduate Research Assistant at Michigan State University and recently completed our Wikipedia training course sponsored by the National Science Policy Network. Wikipedia is one of the most popular online resources for anyone to get information that they’re interested in learning. During election years, voters will use Wikipedia to read about different … Continued

Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt

We’ve all been told—or been the one telling people—to not use Wikipedia as a source. There’s a variety of reasons, of course, with the main one being the credibility of the information. The Wikipedia community is aware of this and has made a series of changes aimed at rectifying this. Wiki Education’s programs are also … Continued

Improving information about disability healthcare on Wikipedia

When Wikipedia is a first stop for individuals interested in developmental disability-related healthcare, isn’t it important that the information they find there be complete and accurate? Wikipedia is one of the places many individuals who lack knowledge about developmental disability issues turn to. Some healthcare practitioners consult the site and/or use it as a resource. … Continued

A linked data platform with the potential that metadata professionals long for

Jackie Shieh, a Descriptive Data Management Librarian at Smithsonian Libraries, recently completed our Wikidata how-to course for beginners. Here, Jackie provides a detailed account of what that experience was like. Learning the way of triple statements is something very new to librarians, especially metadata professionals who are no strangers to rules and the interpretation for … Continued

Writing with a purpose: history teachers revise Wikipedia

Rachel Tamar Van is an Assistant Professor of early American history at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Here she reflects on what a Wikipedia assignment meant for her history classroom. For many writing assignments, the exercise is in the writing.  Students cherish every word of feedback. They thoughtfully apply comments to … Continued