How Erik Olin Wright inspired João Alexandre Peschanski to become a Wikimedian

Image: Erik Olin Wright with teaching assistants in 2010, including João Alexandre Peschanski, far left. All rights reserved. As an undergraduate student, João Alexandre Peschanski had read several scholarly works by Dr. Erik Olin Wright, but he’d never met him. That changed in 2008, when João, who is from Brazil, was contemplating which Ph.D. program … Continued

Bringing U.S. women’s history to the public

Sarah Emma Edmonds was a veteran of the 2nd Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War — in which she served as a man named Frank Thompson. Or did she? Until earlier this year, Wikipedia’s article on her had a warning banner indicating the article contained disputed information. That made the article on Edmonds ripe … Continued

Centering diversity in stories of Mississippi’s history

As an exhibits content specialist for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jessica O’Connor’s job is to help center diverse voices in the stories they tell. So when she heard about the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI) Wiki Scholars course for Smithsonian Affiliates, focused on improving Wikipedia biographies of notable American women in … Continued

Amplifying Iowan women’s accomplishments through Wikipedia

This spring, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI) hosted a series of Wiki Scholars courses with Wiki Education, focused on training Smithsonian Affiliates in how to create biographies of American women relevant to their local communities and collections. One such Smithsonian Affiliate is Grinnell College in Iowa; public librarian Monique Shore often collaborates with … Continued

Welcome, Reema!

We are excited to announce a new addition to the Wiki Education team. Reema Haque will be serving as the marketing and communications intern this summer at Wiki Education. Reema will be helping tell the story of the Scholars & Scientists Program. Her work includes identifying communications opportunities and marketing needs, writing and designing marketing … Continued

Student wins U-Mich writing award for Wikipedia article

The University of Michigan’s William P. Malm Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Writing in Japanese Studies is awarded each year for an outstanding undergraduate paper. Past honorees were usually honored for writing traditional academic papers. But this year’s award went to Aja Brandmeier for improving the Wikipedia article on Birth control in Japan. “I have … Continued

Teaching with Wikipedia leads to BU award

The Boston University School of Public Health gives out a series of awards at the end of each academic year; this year’s McCahan Day Educational Innovation Award went to Diana Ceballos for her work in teaching with Wikipedia through Wiki Education’s Wikipedia Student Program. “Students were very engaged, excited, and committed to this new way … Continued

The importance of not hiding the past

Raeleigh Evans and Eden Jones are both students at Brigham Young University who — due to the pandemic — have never actually met in person. But in fall 2020, they collaborated together to create a brand-new Wikipedia article on the Code of Indian Offenses, a 1883 legislation that restricted religious and cultural ceremonies of Native … Continued

Informing the public about psychological science: Ben Karney

Ten years ago, then-Association for Psychological Sciences President Mazarin Banaji put out a call to action for faculty to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of psychological science. In particular, Banaji encouraged faculty to assign students to edit Wikipedia, in collaboration with what’s now known as Wiki Education’s Wikipedia Student Program. Ben Karney of the University of California … Continued