10 years of learning to engage experts
This fall, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Wikipedia Student Program with a series of blog posts telling the story of the program in the United States and Canada. Saying that Wikipedia has changed a lot over the past ten years is an understatement. One of the ways that Wikipedia has changed the most … Continued
How we helped voters get neutral information
The 2020 elections are fast approaching in the United States, and as people prepare to vote (often from home, by mail) they’re looking for information that can help them make up their minds. At first glance that seems surprising: Surely almost everyone has made up their minds about whether they support Donald Trump or Joe … Continued
Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day with Wikipedia
Today is Ada Lovelace Day, honoring women in STEM. Named after Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, who is widely considered to be one of the first computer programmers. Improving Wikipedia’s coverage of women in STEM has been an ongoing theme around Ada Lovelace Day. In the 10 years we’ve been supporting student editors through our Wikipedia Student … Continued
How a Wiki Scholar improved a Nobel laureate’s biography
We awoke this morning to the exciting news that the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded today to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their work on CRISPR. It’s exciting to see this amazing discovery recognized, and it’s great to see the prize go to women, but I was especially pleased that a participant in one … Continued
Elevating the voices of women in science through Wikipedia
Adriana Bankston is a Principal Legislative Analyst at University of California. She recently took the 500 Women Scientists Wiki Scholars course and reflects on her experience in this guest blog post. This post represents the writer’s personal views and not the views of their employer, University of California. I’m a former bench scientist who transitioned … Continued
Into the WikiWorld
Valerie Bentivegna is a bio-engineer working and living in Seattle. She is a member of the Seattle pod of 500 Women Scientists and chair of the Communication Working Group of the Marie Curie Alumni Association. You can follow her on her personal blog and on Twitter. We all know Wikipedia. It’s almost impossible not to. … Continued
An unusual place to find community
Dr. Azmina Bhayani is family physician. She recently completed one of our Wiki Scholars courses sponsored by the Society of Family Planning. She practices in New York City and is particularly interested in reproductive health and medical education. Community means different things to different people. Wikipedia says community is “a social unit…with commonality such as … Continued
Adding biographies of female oceanographers
Laura Guertin is a Professor of Earth Science at Penn State Brandywine in Media, Pennsylvania. She recently participated in the 500 Women Scientists Wiki Scholars program and reflects on her experience with the Wikimedia community in this guest blog post. As a scientist and educator Wikipedia is a resource that has always been on my … Continued
Wiki Education participants improve COVID-19 local response articles
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the United States, residents are seeking information about their local governments’ responses. Local newspapers are often a great source for the most recent news, but it’s hard to get a big picture of the pandemic’s impact on states, cities, and regions from reading a daily newspaper. Wikipedia, however, provides … Continued
Special Olympics staff improve Wikipedia’s equity
Jamie Valis is the Director of Health Training at Special Olympics, Lindsay Dubois is the Director, Research and Evaluation at Special Olympics, and Chelsea Fosse is a public health dentist, former Coordinator of the Clinical Director Community of Practice at Special Olympics, and Senior Health Policy Analyst at the American Dental Association. Jamie, Lindsay, and … Continued