This weekend is WikiConference North America, a virtual gathering of Wikimedians who will share our experiences. Wiki Education board, staff, and program participants are featured prominently in the schedule. Board member Carwil Bjork-James is a plenary speaker. We also extend our thanks to our board members Richard Knipel and Bob Cummings, both of whom have helped to plan the … Continued
For being the world’s largest open educational resource (OER), Wikipedia’s coverage of OER-related topics left something to be desired. That’s why Wiki Education collaborated with the GO-GN Global OER Graduate Network and the Hewlett Foundation to run two Wiki Scholars courses aimed at improving Wikipedia’s coverage of OER, broadly defined. The call for participants snagged … Continued
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington, is a Smithsonian Affiliate — which made their staff eligible to participate in one of Wiki Education’s recent Wiki Scholars courses, themed around the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative. Northwest Museum Curator of History Freya Liggett signed right up. “I’d never considered becoming a Wikipedia … Continued
Opal Lee is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” A civil rights activist and community leader in Fort Worth, Texas, she had campaigned for decades to see Juneteenth become a national holiday. And, until earlier this year, she didn’t have a Wikipedia biography. She does now, in part thanks to Erica Schumann, a member of … Continued
Access to neutral, fact-based information about the laws and policies that affect people’s lives is important for a functioning society. Wikipedia — a neutral source of information without a paywall — is a natural place for Americans to turn to to learn about U.S. public policy that affects their lives. In the spring 2021 term, … Continued
Jan Davidson, a museum historian for the Cape Fear Museum in New Hanover County, North Carolina, had thought about editing Wikipedia articles, but she’d never actually clicked the edit button. The Cape Fear Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate. As part of the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative, these Affiliates were invited to participate in a … Continued
Wikimania is the annual convening of people in the global Wikimedia community. Typically, the conference happens in person in a different country every year. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Wikimania is happening virtually, August 14–17. Join us! Wiki Education is participating in a number of sessions: How Wiki Education Foundation promotes knowledge … Continued
The vision of the Wikimedia movement is to collect and freely share the sum of all human knowledge. All human knowledge, however, requires representation from a wide cross section of all humans, and in this area, we in the Wikimedia movement have work to do. The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other … Continued
As the chief public engagement officer for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Doug Roberts often refers to and uses content from Wikipedia in his work. So, he says, he recognized that there is a need for Wikipedia to better represent women and other underrepresented groups. When the opportunity presented itself for Doug … Continued
