What ecologists and Wikipedians actually have in common
“Hi, how are you? Do you want to learn about Wikipedia and education?” It may be pretty simple, sure, but that’s the phrase I said over and over at the Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting. As it turns out, many people did want to learn more. I spoke to biogeochemists, dendrologists, and limnologists, graduate … Continued
Students and professionals make Wikipedia more inclusive of women in STEM
What does it mean to have scientists of diverse identities represented in the largest, most-accessed encyclopedia worldwide? It means… scientists besides white men are historically recognized for their role in the advancement of STEM fields. correcting the stereotype of “what a scientist looks like” (did you think man with a lab coat when I said … Continued
Writing women back into tech history
Have you heard about Virginia Tucker? She was one of the first “human computers” in space engineering history. What about Katheryn Emanuel Lawson? She was one of the first female African American chemists who worked in Sandia National Laboratories. Or how about Margaret Hilda Harper? She was “one of the two physicians who described that coeliac disease in the pancreas and … Continued
Are the MacArthur ‘Genius’ grant winners represented on Wikipedia?
On Wednesday, the MacArthur ‘Genius’ grants were announced for 2019. The Wikipedian part of my brain, the part that I can’t turn off anymore, immediately wanted to update the Wikipedia article for the Fellowship with the most recent awardees, linking to the biographies that already existed and highlighting which still needed to be created. I already … Continued
If you’re a biologist in search of science communication tools…
So you’ve spent the last three years of your life studying a type of gene, cell, or species, (maybe a bat), and you’re wondering… “How can I share what I know with more people?” The answer: contribute to Wikipedia’s coverage of your specialty and help thousands of people around the world better understand biology and … Continued
Building student confidence and sharing knowledge outside the academic silo
When Hilary Wilson first took a look at the Wikipedia article she was to improve for her Earth science class, she realized the geological element didn’t even have a clear definition stated on the page. “That was my main inspiration for what needed to be changed and added.” The assignment was part of Dr. Jim … Continued
Life on Mars? Planetology students inform us on Wikipedia!
Mars has long loomed as a figure in human mythology and art. In the age of space exploration, though, Mars has taken on a new role: potential destination. It’s possible that, someday, humans may live on the Red Planet. To prepare for such an adventure, we must understand the ways in which Mars differs from … Continued
The ancient Middle East and the ethics of archaeology
Many of the advances that we enjoy and even take for granted nowadays have come from the Middle East. Love coffee? The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking or knowledge shows that a monastery in Yemen during the 15th century enjoyed or knew about coffee. Have you performed in a marching band? The origins of … Continued
Academia is changing its mind about Wikipedia
“Most medical students use Wikipedia, yet most medical schools do not train students to improve Wikipedia or use it critically.” So begins the research study published by MedEdPublish this spring about the use of Wikipedia in medical education. The article ultimately encourages the implementation of Wikipedia writing assignments “across all health professional schools.” Attitudes toward … Continued
Ask Alice? Not about medical content!
Would you trust a university’s advice column to provide trustworthy medical content? Probably not. And while Wikipedia policies require high-quality sources for medical articles, the guidelines aren’t always followed, and there are too few volunteers editing medical topics to keep all such articles at a high standard. That’s why the article for the medical procedure tubal … Continued