Channeling passion into action: NSPN Wiki Scientists
“The public looks to Wikipedia to make informed political decisions. If I can make that information more accurate and complete, that’s a good use of my time.” When the National Science Policy Network (NSPN) announced that they would be sponsoring a course with us for early career scientists to add science policy information to Wikipedia (in … Continued
Ugandans writing their own story of family planning
Wikipedia aspires to collect and distribute the sum of human knowledge, but systemic barriers prevent the realization of this goal. Barriers to editing Wikipedia are highest in the Global South, where internet access can be sporadic or nonexistent, and people have less leisure time to contribute as unpaid labor. The entire continent of Africa (1.2 … Continued
Wikipedia as an avenue for motivating staff to enact change
When you search for scientists online, Wikipedia is probably the first result. But did you know that 82% of Wikipedia biographies are about men? There’s a lot of work to be done to create pages for people who identify as women, African-American, Asian, Asian-American, Latinx, indigenous, and LGBTQ+. On Ada Lovelace Day this year, engineers, … 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
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
Making sure Wikipedia tells the stories of African-American suffragists
If you asked people to name an American women’s suffragist, a few names would get repeated over and over. They’d mention Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Perhaps some would be able to name a woman of color, though perhaps just Ida B. Wells. The stories of black suffragettes are often excluded … Continued
Building digital literacy capacity with UMass Lowell faculty
Women in Red at UMass Lowell is a one-year project to build digital literacy capacity in higher education and address the gender gap on campus and in Wikipedia. To kick off this project, 13 faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell will be accepted into Wiki Education’s synchronous Wiki Scholars course, meeting online once a … Continued
Me, a Wikipedian?
A few months ago, I got a text from a friend. “I think you’d be interested in this.” She’d sent me a link to an application for a course offered by Wiki Education and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to train people to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of women’s suffrage in the United States. … 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
Early career scientists advancing the role of science in policy making
The 2020 election offers an opportunity for scientists to engage the public in thinking about how policy and science affect their daily lives. When voters search online to learn more about their candidates or ballot measures, they’ll inevitably end up reading about these topics on Wikipedia. 500 million readers come to Wikipedia each month to … Continued