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