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Wikipedia, the free, open, online encyclopedia has the potential to share information and knowledge with people around the world. However, the use of Wikipedia in higher education is often discouraged because, in general, encyclopedias are not adequate sources for college-level research. Also, anyone can edit Wikipedia, so outdated and erroneous information may be present;
But what if, the tables were turned and instead students were encouraged to be contributors and given credit for editing and improving Wikipedia?
What might they learn and how might their critical thinking skills be improved?
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, would like more experts to be part of the project. Wales notes that often enthusiasts develop entries of personal interest and that someone with a deeper understanding would add nuance and improve the quality of articles greatly. However, the number of scientist/editors in Wikipedia appears to be low. In 2005, Nature polled 1,000 published scientists and discovered that only 10% of them had edited Wikipedia (Giles, 2005).
In an effort to give students an opportunity to contribute to a widely viewed online resource and receive credit, educators have developed a number of different Wikipedia assignments. One such assignment focused on improving topic pages pertaining to chronobiology. At the conclusion of the project, 12 pages were edited, 3 new pages were added, and 347 citations to peer-reviewed literature were added. Students noted that they personally benefited from the editorial process and their comfort level with reading, critiquing, and summarizing original research increased (Chiang et al., 2012). In a separate assignment, after six semesters, student’s enrolled in law related courses produced 106 new articles and improved 37 existing articles (Carver, Davis, Kelley, Obar, and Davis, 2012). These case studies demonstrate that students have potential to add substantially to the public knowledge.
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| Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon |
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon events
Beyond student assignments and editing Wikipedia yourself, another way to improve the quality of Wikipedia is to organize Wikipedia Edit-a-thon events. During these events, editors, novice and expert alike, work side-by-side to address subject matter gaps and other weaknesses within Wikipedia. Topics of interest to women have been identified as particularly lacking. In response, events are being held around the globe to increase content by, for, and about women. One such event, Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, is scheduled for March 18, 2016 at ASU’s Hayden Library from 1-8pm. The associated exhibit “In the Stacks: Print Wikipedia,” will be on display at Hayden Library through May 21, 2016.
Bibliography
Carver, B.
W., Davis, R, Kelley, R. T., Obar, J. A. & Davis, L. L. (2012). Assigning Students to Edit Wikipedia: four case studies. E-Learning and Digital Media, 9(3),
273-283. doi: 10.2304/elea.2012.9.3.273
Chiang,
C.D., Lewis, C. L., Wright, M. D. E., Agapova, S., Akers, B., Azad, T. D., …
Herzog, E. D. (2012). Learning Chronobiology by Improving Wikipedia. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 27(4),
333-336. doi: 10.1177/0748730412449578
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