Wikipedia as a teaching tool that empowers students
“I’ve improved my student reviews from it.” Dr. Jennifer Glass’ environmental geochemistry course at Georgia Tech last fall covered “how chemical, biological, and geological processes control the distribution of chemical elements on Earth and the solar system.” Through a semester-long Wikipedia writing assignment, she wanted students to gain experience “in scientific writing on notable topics … Continued
Representing accomplishments of elite Indigenous athletes on Wikipedia
What are the implications if the world’s leading source of online information highlights the accomplishments of elite Indigenous athletes? It’s a question that Dr. Vicky Paraschak’s class at University of Windsor surely discussed as they created brand new Wikipedia biographies for Indigenous athletes from Canada as an assignment this last fall. Tony Cote, the first … Continued
What students fighting misinformation online looks like
Facebook announced a new policy last week banning “deepfakes”, or digitally altered videos, from its platform. Not surprisingly, thousands turned to the Wikipedia page about deepfakes to understand more. Thanks to University of Southern California students from Helen Choi’s course last fall, the page provides some helpful context. In the last few years, the world’s … Continued
Penn students feel connection to local history while writing Wikipedia page for local mosque
As is often the case when teaching with Wikipedia, Dr. Heather Sharkey adapted her original vision of a Wikipedia writing assignment based on what inspired students about the task. The result is a great story of collaboration, archiving of local history, and pride. Dr. Sharkey conducted her first Wikipedia writing assignment using our resources and … Continued
If you give a mouse a Wikipedia page…
Mice and rats are not much beloved, and are in fact one of the most common phobias! But did you know that mice and rats are important to ecosystems as a source of prey for many animals and that they represent a large swath of mammalian diversity? Students in Dr. John Hanson’s Mammalogy course at … Continued
Students of foreign literature improve Wikipedia
Literature can take us to to worlds filled with fantasies and aliens. But it can also take us to times and locations in our own world that we may have never seen or experienced or before. Students in Dr. Joan McRae’s Foreign Literature in Translation class at Middle Tennessee State University took this journey last … Continued
Turning a composition course into public scholarship
Learning how to write effectively is an integral part of the college experience, yet many students dread the general composition course. The writing assignments can be restrictively narrow in scope, necessitating students write about subjects that bore them. Hours of research and writing go into drafting a paper that only the instructor will read. With … Continued
Re-imagining global Korea: the art of protest and social change
As the protesters in Hong Kong continue to make their voices heard, society becomes increasingly aware of how important it is to educate ourselves on the changes and developments outside of our own countries. A protest in a country such as China or unincorporated territories such as Puerto Rico have a ripple effect that can … Continued
Learning about Islamic art and architecture through Wikipedia
The Islamic world has created many of the knowledge and inventions we see nowadays, such as coffee, algebra, and possibly the paper mill. Islamic art and architecture has also been highly influential throughout the world. The students of Boston University instructor Dr. Emine Fetvaci’s Islamic Art and Architecture class reviewed content in this topic area, paying attention … Continued
Writing Latina artists into Wikipedia
What if students could help raise the visibility of artists of color across decades through a single assignment? In the case of Dr. Nicole Strathman’s students at UCLA, learning how to write Wikipedia biographies for Latina artists is accomplishing just that. “In exploring the diverse artistic contributions, interventions, and aesthetic experiments by women in Latin … Continued