Why a Wikipedia assignment: a student’s perspective
Sienna Stevens was a student in Dr. Rachel Miller’s Baroque Art class at California State University Sacramento this spring, where she expanded a Wikipedia article as an assignment. Here, she talks about what the experience means to her. Before taking this class, I honestly had no idea that anyone could edit a Wikipedia page. Sure, … 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
Looking ahead: our plan for 2019-2020
We love to tell the stories of the thousands of students and hundreds of professionals making meaningful contributions to Wikipedia’s content through our programs every year. Those individuals make a big difference in spreading free, reliable knowledge globally. And we’re proud to share in their successes. Rarely, though, do we talk about the behind the … Continued
Creative thinking education for early career scientists
How did you learn to think creatively? Maybe creative thinking is a practice in which you’ve always excelled. You played an instrument as a child. A teacher commended you on your ability to draw or to write. Maybe you majored in studio art. So often, though, cultural narratives about “creativity” center upon a narrow definition … Continued
Engaging students with Wikipedia
Guest author Dr. Kathleen Sheppard is is an alumna of the History of Science Department at the University of Oklahoma and is now an associate professor of history and political science at Missouri Science & Technology. She was awarded 2019 Woman of the Year at MST “in recognition of her efforts to improve the campus environment for women … Continued
Japanese women change-makers of the 20th century
Want to learn about a prominent Japanese anarchist feminist at the turn of the century? Or Japan’s first woman journalist? How about an important activist in Japan’s 20th century women’s liberation movements, who was imprisoned repeatedly for her politics? Thanks to Dr. Elyssa Faison’s students at the University of Oklahoma, you can now read all … Continued
Curing academic writer’s block by editing Wikipedia
If you’re an academic experiencing writer’s block, never fear! Our Wikipedia writing courses give you tools to counteract two important types of block. The first is typical of many writing professions: having trouble putting something to paper. The second type is more unique to academia and has some dire, real-world consequences: difficulty explaining complex topics … Continued
Why instructors join our open pedagogy community
Almost a decade into the Wikipedia Student Program, it can be easy to take the immense impact of the Wikipedia assignment for granted. Millions of words added by close to ten thousand students term after term has become the norm, and Spring 2019 was no exception. Almost 8,500 students from 400 courses across the U.S. and Canada contributed … Continued
Looking back to look ahead
Fiscal year 2018–19 has been a time of change for Wiki Education. After completing our year-long strategic planning process in June 2018, the organization started executing against its new three-year strategy. Overall, we’re extremely proud of what we’ve achieved only one year into carrying out this plan. We’ve laid the foundation for the work ahead of … Continued
Counteracting the gender gap in economics through Wikipedia
Not only do economic fields recruit too few women, but progress in engaging women in economic programs and careers has stalled in the United States in recent years. That’s a problem, but one that students at the University of British Columbia are helping solve. During spring 2019, Dr. Marina Adshade assigned students in her “Women in the … Continued