As more archives become digitized, historians are turning to new technologies to delve into the past. Drawing from a variety of disciplines, ranging from computational science to digital mapping, the burgeoning field of Digital History is enabling historians to comb through vast amounts of historical data and visualize the past in new ways. From archiving … Continued
Whether via social media, email, or text messaging, we increasingly communicate online. Sites like Facebook and Twitter let us keep up with friends and family, but they also give our words the potential to reach a very large audience. This explosion in online communication can be a powerful force for unification, but it can also … Continued
Have you thought about adopting a Wikipedia-based assignment, but are struggling with how exactly to incorporate it into your class? Have you ever wondered what other instructors teaching with Wikipedia are doing in their courses? Is this the first time you’ve heard of Wikipedia assignments, and you’d like to know more? In October, we had … Continued
The scientific community has a vested interest in a well-informed society, and the public at large is yearning for accurate scientific information. Despite these intersecting goals, a large gulf still persists between scientific expertise and public knowledge. In an age of instant access to information, reliable scientific knowledge still remains out of reach for many … Continued
The public is yearning for scientific knowledge, and scientists wish to make their findings and expertise available to the world at large. Despite these intersecting goals, the public often struggles to find clear, comprehensible scientific information. Meanwhile, the scientific community often finds its work tightly guarded behind paywalls, or drowned in the sea of media … Continued
I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Zachary McDowell has been named our 2016-2017 research fellow. Zach will investigate the student learning outcomes of a Wikipedia assignment at the higher education level. Dr. McDowell joins us from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he completed his Ph.D. in communication. He has taught courses with Wikipedia since … Continued
Wiki Ed supported more students in 2015 than ever before. With improvements in our tools and resources, we’ve been able to maintain quality work from those student editors. It was a year of rapid growth and considerable change. In one term, the courses we supported rose from 117 (spring 2015) to 162 in fall 2015 … Continued
We introduced some significant changes to the Classroom Program in spring 2015. This term saw the largest number of classes yet, but most importantly, the term was a success in the quality of contributions and user experiences, too. Our Classroom Program supports instructors who improve Wikipedia through student assignments. We offer students and instructors with … Continued
Wiki Ed’s Classroom Program is focused on improving Wikipedia by having university students in the United States and Canada write high-quality articles that fill content gaps as part of their coursework. And in fall 2014, the program filled more content gaps than ever before, with improvements in subject areas like archaeology (improved by students from … Continued
