Writing with a purpose: history teachers revise Wikipedia
Rachel Tamar Van is an Assistant Professor of early American history at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Here she reflects on what a Wikipedia assignment meant for her history classroom. For many writing assignments, the exercise is in the writing. Students cherish every word of feedback. They thoughtfully apply comments to … Continued
Updating the student user experience for Spring 2020
For the Spring 2020 term we’ve added a major set of features to the “My Articles” section of students’ course pages. The centerpiece of this update is the Progress Tracker which students can use at each stage of the Wikipedia article-writing process. The Progress Tracker will allow students to see what they should be doing, … Continued
When we join hands to bring women to Wikipedia
Women are underrepresented on Wikipedia, and it’s a well-documented problem. I’ve spent the last 8 years working on Wikipedia, and the gender gap is the topic I most often see covered in the media (see examples here, here, and here). I certainly understand why. It’s devastating for most people to learn that the world’s most … Continued
Wiki Education awarded Spark Grant to update Dashboard
Wiki Education has been awarded a Spark Grant for their Wikipedia Student Program. This program supports Wikipedia writing assignments in higher education, giving students the rare and powerful opportunity to write for a real audience as part of their course work. The assignments go from guided critical thinking about Wikipedia pages — how they are … Continued
An ecology student becomes a Wikipedian
“You’re not always able to make a huge impact, but at least you can make a dent.” Kai Medina learned how to add content to Wikipedia pages as a student in Dr. Randi Rotjan’s marine biology course this Spring. Since then, he has remained an active editor on Wikipedia, adding content, photos, and field recordings … 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
One big way to amplify your knowledge and make a change in the world
When scientists share their rigorous research beyond their niche communities, they help restore the public’s trust in science. Wikipedia reaches people who are looking for reliable information, and Wiki Education is working to make sure academics, researchers, and scientists have the opportunity to reach those readers. This year, we did this by partnering with the … Continued
Improving medical Wikipedia pages as an expert and a consumer
“It feels really powerful to have a forum to reach this many people and to provide them with potentially helpful information. I certainly don’t reach this many people during direct patient care or through publications in medical journals.” Everyone uses Wikipedia. Even our doctors. So doesn’t it make sense to invite medical professionals into … Continued
Bringing the community together: WikidataCon 2019
In October, 250 members of the Wikidata community gathered in Berlin, Germany for the second ever WikidataCon. It was an engaging conference, packed with updates about the project, the release of new tools, a day-long Wikibase workshop, and a special emphasis on languages and GLAM work this year. Follow this link to see recordings, notes, … 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