Producing knowledge through an intersectional lens

Intersectionality is Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s theory that attempts to understand how institutions shape our social statuses and experiences, and it’s central to academic disciplines like women’s studies. National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Wikipedia Fellow Dr. Jenn Brandt worked this spring to improve the women’s studies Wikipedia article and define the discipline for the broader public. She summarized it as “an academic … Continued

Expanding the APS Wikipedia Initiative

This weekend, Wiki Education is attending the Association for Psychological Science’s (APS) annual meeting here in San Francisco. In our ongoing efforts to communicate science to the public, we are at the conference to promote the APS Wikipedia Initiative. APS has partnered with Wiki Education over the last three years to highlight Wikipedia as the first—and often … Continued

Women’s studies and Wikipedia: a year in review

As we approach the end of the academic year, I enjoy reflecting back to celebrate our achievements. When I step back, I see how much we’ve accomplished through our dedicated staff members, passionate program participants, and committed partners. My real passion project on Wikipedia is to improve its equity—in both content and contributors—and I’m consistently blown … Continued

Helping political science students share their voices on Wikipedia

Last month, Wiki Education attended the Midwest Political Science Association’s (MPSA) annual conference to promote Wiki Education programs alongside one of our most dedicated educational partners. MPSA began partnering with Wiki Education during the Spring 2015 term, so we have been able to commit some of our limited resources to improving Wikipedia’s coverage of political science. Earlier … Continued

How can we bring reliable information to the public? Political scientists of MPSA are here to help!

In an era when people are paying such close attention to politics, and with easy access to conflicting points of view and propaganda, it’s more important than ever to surface high quality, verifiable knowledge. Wiki Education is committed to bringing political science expertise and scholarship to Wikipedia, giving the public better access to reliable information. … Continued

Ocean scientists sign on to share knowledge with the world

Earlier this month, I attended the Ocean Sciences Meeting, a venue for marine scientists to share knowledge and research across disciplines, including geology, physics, and chemistry. The meeting is co-hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), The Oceanography Society (TOS), and the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), whose members’ lives and careers … Continued

Ocean scientists can educate the world through Wikipedia

This week, Wiki Education is attending the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, OR, where the hosting organizations aim to disseminate knowledge about the ocean. They do so via meetings like this one, where experts convene to discuss recent research and implications for the world’s biggest ecosystem. This venue is integral for scientists to collaborate and … Continued

Kicking off 2018 by recruiting new instructors

To kick off 2018, we attended two conferences, joining university faculty and inviting them to participate in our programs to improve Wikipedia. At the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) conference, which we attended for the third year in a row, dozens of instructors were excited to sign up and join LSA’s initiative to document and preserve … Continued

Help students do an assignment that’s out of this world

This week, we’re at the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) winter meeting in Washington, DC. We’re encouraging astronomers to engage their students in writing Wikipedia articles for a classroom assignment. By producing Wikipedia content, students begin to learn the nuts and bolts of the online encyclopedia, which teaches them how to use it productively. The assignment engages … Continued