Millions of people use Wikipedia to find out quick facts about nearly everything. Sea life is no exception. Wikipedia, “the Internet’s favorite website,” has a greater share of mobile traffic than CNN, Fox News, and USA Today combined. It’s an unprecedentedly powerful public resource and science communications opportunity. Students from Millersville University of Pennsylvania’s Seminar … Continued
One of our favorite stories comes from Dr. Alex Webb, a geologist who was teaching with Wikipedia at Louisiana State University. In his first class, one of his students wrote an article about tectonic subsidence, an important issue related to sea level change and land loss in Louisiana. “It really communicated the core things you … Continued
One of the great joys of Wikipedia is just how comprehensive it can be. Sometimes, you want to know about the Arab Spring. Sometimes you want to know about hepatitis. And sometimes, you just have a question about socks. Case in point: When, exactly, should you wear a compression stocking? And where did compression stockings … Continued
Jackie Mann, like many of today’s college students, grew up using Wikipedia. But she’d never really thought about contributing. “Wikipedia was a source of knowledge outside of school,” she said. That changed when she got to DePaul University. One of her favorite professors, Dr. Morag Kersel, announced that she’d be using Wikipedia in her Anthropology … Continued
In the early 1930s, you’d have some difficulty finding women in medical courses. It would be near impossible to find women teaching at them. Yet, that’s just one of the notable accomplishments of Dr. Mary Bernheim. She was a British biochemist who, in her work at Cambridge, discovered an enzyme now known as monoamine oxidase … Continued
In 1839, the Scottish explorer Frances “Fanny” Erskine Inglis, later known as Fanny Calderón, took a somewhat controversial road trip. Her travels through Mexico, which she documented through letters collected in her 1843 book, Life in Mexico, formed one of the earliest and most influential European travel narratives about Latin America. The book, the only … Continued
On September 28, 1928, Alexander Fleming came into work and discovered that he’d left the window open, changing the course of modern medicine. The window had allowed some outside air to land in a stack of staphylococci cultures he’d been researching. A fungus had grown and, around that fungus, colonies of staphylococci had been destroyed. … Continued
When a state government owns up to its wrongdoings, the consequences can be severe. The process of uncovering the past is politically wrought, and the findings are often deliberately obscured. Nonetheless, documenting and distributing the findings of these commissions, often through truth commissions, is an essential part of a government holding itself accountable for human rights … Continued
Highlights The Classroom Program has been busy onboarding instructors for the fall term. The fall marks the second half of the Year of Science, and continues Wiki Ed’s trend of growth. We’ve nearly doubled the number of supported courses compared to this time last fall. Wiki Ed staff was on the road in August, promoting … Continued