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Nov 4, 2021 · Wikipedia offers free and reliable information instantly. So why do teachers almost universally distrust it? Wikipedia has community-enforced policies on neutrality, reliability and notability.
- Write about your field on Wikipedia. Follow the examples of future doctor Emily Temple-Wood and Dr. Jess Wade and take stewardship of the articles in your field.
- Have your students write about your field on Wikipedia. Encourage your students to do so as well, perhaps in the form of classroom assignments. The non-profit organization Wiki Education Foundation provides curricular and technical assistance to hundreds of college courses each semester whose students are contributing to Wikipedia as part of their coursework.
- Critique an article in your field. Even if you don’t have the time or inclination to contribute to Wikipedia, you can still help Wikipedia by critiquing an article.
- Document the important people in your field. There are other ways your expertise can help. Write and publish biographies documenting important colleagues and their contributions to your field.
- It’s a good place to start: Wikipedia is the first place many of us go when we want to know something. If you just need a general overview of something and how it connects to other topics, there’s really no better place to go than Wikipedia.
- It contains lots of basic facts: Sometimes you need a generic fact, and Wikipedia is about as authoritative a citation as you probably need for a factoid like: the deepest part of the world’s oceans is the Challenger Deep.
- It leads students to additional sources: Even if Wikipedia is not typically an acceptable citation (you can have students read the site’s disclaimer explaining as much), it’s a fantastic starting place for students to ground themselves in a topic.
- It’s where history is actively being written: Having a Wikipedia page is a new metric of legitimacy for historical and living figures. For example, there’s an effort to create Wikipedia pages to recognize the underappreciated role of women in science.
Oct 10, 2022 · Wikipedia is an opportunity to teach students essential 21st century skills that most will use in their careers and personal lives. Wikipedia is a valuable public resource, and in a classroom environment, students learn how to contribute to it and how to use it properly.
Jul 5, 2019 · Effectively navigating a Wikipedia article can provide students with an opportunity to learn about peer review, sourcing, footnotes, and internet research. It also teaches critical-thinking skills.
- Benjamin Barbour
Combined with 11 other Wikimedia projects, they offer an extensive network of free learning resources for people around the world. At the Wikimedia Foundation, we help teachers and students of all ages access and use the full potential of Wikimedia projects for their learning objectives.
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Mar 20, 2023 · The five pillars establish Wikipedia as a free online encyclopedia, with articles that are accurate and cite reliable sources, and editors – called Wikipedians – who avoid bias and treat one another with respect.
