Wikipedia is a Web-based Wiki where information is crowd-sourced. In other words, volunteers write, edit, and maintain roughly 5 million articles. “Anyone with Web access can edit Wikipedia, and this openness encourages inclusion of a tremendous amount of content. About 73,000 editors—from expert scholars to casual readers—regularly edit Wikipedia” (Wikipedia, 2015, Wikipedia contributors).
Here are examples of how Wikipedia can best be used in the classroom:
- Preresearch
- Locating source articles
- Contributing to Wikipedia
- Editing Wikipedia articles
- Exploring information bias
Essential Requirements
Wikis will operate on both a Mac or PC, as well as an iPad or mobile phone.
Equipment
The only equipment needed is a computer, smartphone, or iPod with a Web browser.
Learning resources information
Key Weblinks
Guides and Beginner Instructions
Here are a number of great guides to help you better understand Wikipedia and its capabilities.
Education
Here are a number of great ideas for using Wikipedia in an educational environment.
- Using Wikipedia To Kill A Mockingbird
- How Teachers Can Use Wikipedia in the Classroom
- Using Wikipedia in education
- The value of using Wikipedia in the classroom
- How can students use Wikipedia in the classroom?
- Education/Reasons to use Wikipedia
- Teaching Wikipedia without Apologies (2012 revision)
- A Quick Visual Guide on How to Create An eBook from Wikipedia Articles
- Wikipedia: Schools/Teachers’ Guide
- The Teacher’s Guide To Wikipedia In The Classroom
- Education/Case Studies
Wikipedia in Education Discussion
Here are articles that discuss using Wikipedia in an educational environment.
- Wikipedia use – nothing to be ashamed about
- Factors that influence the teaching use of Wikipedia in Higher Education (PDF)
- Wikipedia should be ‘better integrated’ into teaching
- How stupid professorial attitudes towards Wikipedia are making students less savvy
- Banning Wikipedia at school: good idea or missed opportunity?
- Why Wikipedia Does Belong in the Classroom
- What It Means To Ban Wikipedia
- Measuring Public Relations Wikipedia Engagement: How Bright is the Rule? (PDF)
- Patient-Oriented Cancer Information on the Internet: A Comparison of Wikipedia and a Professionally Maintained Database
- Professors See Shift in Academic Attitudes on Wikipedia
- Using Wikipedia as a teaching tool
- Hastac Wikipedia articles
Wikipedia
Here are instructions for adding to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Video Tutorials
Here is a collection of videos that will help you contribute to Wikipedia. Wikipedia uses MediaWiki as the software application, therefore, the video tutorials on the Wiki page apply.