Using Wikipedia as a teaching tool in higher education (Bookshelf)

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This page is a collaboration space for creating the brochure Using Wikipedia as a teaching tool in higher education as part of the Bookshelf Project. The target group for this material is instructors at universities and everybody who is interested in the idea of using Wikipedia in higher education.

Introduction[edit]

[PENDING] (Notes)

10 Steps For Using Wikipedia In Your Course[edit]

Step More… What you can do as an instructor
  • Determine if Wikipedia is appropriate for your class assignment
  • Create a Wikipedia user account and familiarize yourself with some of the key account and editing features of Wikipedia
  • Define the learning objectives for students
  • Take a look at the sample Wikipedia Course Syllabus and adjust it to your needs
  • Set up a project page for your specific course on Wikipedia
  • Give students an overview about the course and the role that Wikipedia plays in it
  • Provide students with some basic background information on what Wikipedia is / is not
  • Connect students with Wikipedia Ambassadors to set up user accounts on Wikipedia and familiarize themselves with some of Wikipedia's key features which will be important in completing their assignment. Optionally, students can schedule one-on-one training sessions with Ambassadors to walk through the basics of editing.
  • Ask students to add their name and what topics they are interested in on the course's project page on Wikipedia
  • Ask students to select several articles for improvement and to create a written bullet list of proposed changes/additions for each article. Alternatively, provide students with a list of possible articles to write or improve. (Wikipedia Ambassadors can help create a list of suitable articles for your class.)
  • Select the final article from the students selections, or if you provide a list of articles, have students announce their choices on the course page on Wikipedia.
  • Ask students to review one or more existing Wikipedia articles, analyzing strengths and weaknesses as well as the process by which the articles were created.
  • Optional: Ask students to work on making improvements to existing wikipedia articles in order to better understand the process of collaborative article improvement.
  • Ask students to create their own "sandbox", where they will begin creating outlines for their articles
  • Ask students to begin writing a bibliography for their topic on the selected article's talk page
  • Evaluate the outlines
  • Teach students the basics of how to avoid having a new article deleted.
  • Ask students to begin writing, in their sandbox, a short (three- to four-paragraph) version of their article, summarizing the topic.
  • Last steps before your students start to work live on Wikipedia
  • Ask students to move their articles into main space, and nominate them as Did You Know? entries.
  • Engage the community to give feedback on your students' work
    • Request peer reviews, and have students review articles related to their own projects using Wikipedia's review system
  • Ask students to respond to feedback and continue improving their articles.
  • Optional: Ask your students to prepare an in-class presentation about their work
  • Evaluate the students' articles on Wikipedia
  • Provide students with feedback, and grade on their Wikipedia article

How-to[edit]

Acknowledgements[edit]

Useful resources[edit]