Grants:IdeaLab/College Campaign to Promote Wikipedia as a Digital Literacy Skill
Project idea[edit]
What is the problem you're trying to solve?[edit]
While information literacy is being targeted by accrediting bodies, these accrediting bodies have yet to recognize digital literacy skills. Therefor, many colleges are late to address these skills on campuses. Becoming a contributor to the Web, particularly to Wikipedia, is an important digital literacy skill. In reality, Wikipedia is shunned by many faculty members. Campus campaigns are needed to illustrate:
- how educators could use Wikipedia to develop student search, research, and citation capabilities, and
- how students can use Wikipedia in their scholarship and to become contributors to a shared history.
What is your solution?[edit]
On my own campus, I would create a multi-tiered campaign to raise awareness about Wikipedia through my office that focuses on digital projects just like this one. The multi-tiered campaign would a) use digital promotional materials across campus to raise awareness about Wikipedia, b) offer workshops for faculty to incorporate Wikipedia and for students to utilize Wikipedia (possibly tied into open badging for credit), and c) would hold a competition that specifically addresses female Wikipedia contribution on campus. All materials would be made available by the end of the campaign so that other schools can repurpose the materials on their own campus.
Resources[edit]
- Should Students Use Wikipedia? - Rhett Allain, Wired
- Wikipedia Gradually Accepted in College Classrooms- Brian Burnsed, U.S. News -Education
- A Stand Against Wikipedia - Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
- Wikipedia:Education program
Goals[edit]
Students are often told NOT to use Wikipedia in scholarship and faculty members often shun the use of Wikipedia in their classrooms. To address this issue:
- specifically address how faculty can use Wikipedia to develop student search, research, and citation capabilities, and
- how students can use Wikipedia in their scholarship and become contributors to a shared history.
Get Involved[edit]
Participants[edit]
Endorsements[edit]
- My students have also told me that Wikipedia is "blacklisted" from other classes. We need a more intelligent understanding and use of Wikipedia on campuses. MarkGallimore (talk) 14:54, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
- Leah is a very talented and accomplished individual who has a passion for leveraging technology as a tool for research and learning. WCBklyn2014 (talk) 20:52, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
- I believe that academia should be able to proactively respond to new technology and thus allow for more discourse and cooperation that can be had via the internet. 150.192.0.9 04:19, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
- Thats sounds good, that would also hit women. Juandev (talk) 18:06, 19 March 2015 (UTC)
- Targeting women's studies departments and women's colleges. could strengthen the effect. Add student outreach on campus by tabling at women's academic, cultural and sports events. This could also be a way of reaching other under represented groups, e.g. targeting traditionally black colleges. Bcharles (talk) 17:09, 21 March 2015 (UTC)
- I think that allowing and encouraging female college students to contribute to Wikipedia would quickly close the gender gap that is such a problem on this site. Hornergc (talk) 23:24, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
- I support this idea because I believe strongly that Wikipedia can have a strong and important impact in teaching, research, and scholarship especially among females. 138.92.127.204 12:19, 24 March 2015 (UTC)
- I I am a beautiful person in my head and shoulders I am going through my phone to get the best in life that we are 197.76.140.198 20:59, 2 June 2015 (UTC)
Expand your idea[edit]
Do you want to submit your idea for funding from the Wikimedia Foundation?
Project plan[edit]
Activities[edit]
The multi-tiered campaign would take place over 1 semester and would a) use digital 'did-you-know' advertisements on electronic signs across campus to raise awareness about Wikipedia, b) offer 20 workshops and create digital tutorials for faculty to incorporate Wikipedia in their classes and for students to utilize Wikipedia in their scholarship (possibly tied into open badging for credit), and c) hold a competition that specifically addresses female Wikipedia contribution on campus with three scholarships available for the top contributors. All tiers will run simultaneously with the final award culminating the project. All materials would be made available by the end of the campaign via a Wikipedia resource so that other schools can repurpose the materials on their own campus.
Budget[edit]
- Project Manager: $2500
- Student Work Study: $1000
- Award #1: $2000
- Award #2: $1000
- Award #3: $500
Community engagement[edit]
Part of developing Wikipedia as a digital literacy skill introduced on campuses, I believe, is a) addressing the campus population as future contributors of Wikipedia, which means b) this project will need to develop their integration into the Wikipedia community. So, for the second tier, there will be ways for individuals on-campus and in the Wikipedia community to submit their own ideas for tutorials, and for the last tier, part of the requirements will be to collaborate with other Wikipedia community members.
Sustainability[edit]
As I mentioned, all the materials would be made available by the end of the campaign via a Wikipedia resource so that other schools can repurpose the materials on their own campus. This means that the Wikipedia community will also be able to update it and contribute to it for years to come.
Measures of success[edit]
First, the same pilot survey will be delivered at the beginning and end of the semester to a sample population of faculty and students to see if there was any measurable growth. It will be short- asking simply if individuals use wikipedia, how they use it, and if they contribute to it. I am also a big fan of collecting testimonials along the way. As part of each tier, there will be a chance to collect testimonials from all audiences to see a) if they are receiving the messages, b) how they are incorporating Wikipedia in their classes or scholarship as a result of the workshops and tutorials, and c) testimonials from the competition winners about their participation in Wikipedia.
Project team[edit]
- Leahmacvie - I am both a contributor and user of Wikipedia. This semester, I incorporated Wikipedia into my Technology in Teaching course on campus. Students commented that they are often told NOT to use it in their scholarship. We had a lively class discussion about how they, as educators, could use Wikipedia to develop student search, research, and citation capabilities and student contribution to a shared history.
Community notification[edit]
Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. Need notification tips?