Universities

Our work with universities

One of our key strategic goals as an organisation is to support the use of the Wikimedia projects as important tools for education and learning in the UK. We work with universities, support teachers developing Open Educational Resources, and advocate for the use of Wikimedia in education.

Wikipedia in the classroom Modules currently running in the UK which integrate Wikipedia editing as part of the course: Queen Mary University London FLM509 Research Methods (Film). Level 5 module. Second-year undergraduate module for BA Film Studies students. Wikipedia related work includes groups of students reviewing, evaluating, and editing a Wikipedia page. Course handbook (PDF) University College London University of Edinburgh Research session for Reproductive Biology Honours students. In September 2015, Reproductive Biology Honours students researched, synthesised and developed a first-rate Wikipedia entry of a previously unpublished medical term: Neuroangiogenesis. The case study is detailed here. The session proved a success so is to be repeated & expanded in September 2016 in collaboration with West Virginia University. Details can be found here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh/Events_and_Workshops/Reproductive_Biomedicine_2016 Reproductive Biomedicine 2016 World Christianity MSc course In September 2016, Dr Alex Chow, Lecturer in Theology and World Christianity, will run an 11 week Wikipedia assignment as part of the World Christianity MSc. The class is known Selected Themes in the Study of World Christianity (WRCH11018). This core course offers candidates the opportunity to study in depth Christian history, thought and practice in and from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Primary attention is given to methods for the study of indigenous forms and expressions of Christianity, to issues of culture and gender, and the changing patterns of relationship between Christianity in the West and other parts of the world. Issues of religious pluralism feature significantly in terms of the interaction between Christianity and other religious traditions. The assignment counts towards 10% of the final assessment. In November 2015, Anouk Lang, lecturer in English and Digital Humanities, tasked her 4th year undergraduate students on the Global Modernisms module to research and write a Wikipedia article on a novel completely unrepresented on Wikipedia with the outcome being a previously unpublished article: Conversations in Bloomsbury, a 1981 memoir that depicts writer Mulk Raj Anand’s life in London during the heyday of the Bloomsbury Group, and his relationships with the group’s members. Anouk reported that the collaborative process engaged her students, and some students in particular who had perhaps been more reticent (or less confident) in participating in more traditional assignments, in researching the topic & in applying the digital literacy skills required to achieve the page’s creation. The net result is not an essay or report that could potentially be filed away & forgotten but instead something that adds to the sum of human knowledge & is discoverable by other readers & editors all over the world so that they, in turn, can add more to it. Translation Studies MSc course In September 2016, Dr. Charlotte Bosseaux, Senior Lecturer on the Translation Studies MSc course will be tasking her students to translate a 4000 word Wikipedia article into another language as part of their independent study component. This will make use of Wikipedia's new Content Translation tool. Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) In May 2016, Dr. Hamish Mcleod, Senior Lecturer in Education, Community and Society (ECS), invited Ewan McAndrew, Wikimedian in Residence at Edinburgh University to host a week of Wikimedia related reading & activities as part of the Online Learning Environments module on the Postgraduate Certificate of Academic Practice. Online History MSc course In Summer 2016, Kacper Lyskiewicz, eLearning and Web Development Officer, invited Ewan McAndrew, Wikimedian in Residence at Edinburgh University, to run a 4 week taster course in editing Wikipedia via the Learn VLE for Online History MSc students. Middlesex University MED3040 Publishing Cultures. Level 6 module. Third year module for BA Publishing and Media students. Students are encouraged to participate in the editing process of Wikipedia articles in order to ensure credibility across the website. Case study University of Portsmouth Applied Human Geography. First-year undergraduate core module for BA Human Geography students. Wikipedia related work involves students working as individuals to write an article about a village in England. Case study from 2014 University of Stirling University of Warwick PS364 Human Sexuality. Third year module for BSc Psychology undergraduate students. Wikipedia related work involves students working in groups to edit Wikipedia articles. If you are interested in using Wikipedia editing as part of your teaching, please get in touch with Wikimedia UK at infowikimedia.org.uk or call the office on 0207 065 0990. Are you running a course which isn't listed here? Please add your university to this page. We would love to hear about how you are using Wikipedia in the classroom.

Networking Wikimedia UK can put course leaders in touch with volunteers to help teach students about Wikipedia or troubleshoot issues with editing. Importantly we want to make it easier for course leaders to contact each other and learn from the experience of their peers. Wikimedia UK has Ambassadors who can train students in editing Wikipedia and support courses.

Shared resources Below is a list of materials prepared for courses using Wikipedia editing which may be reused and adapted: Example 1 Example 2 Instructor Basics: How to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool The Syllabus, A 12-week assignment to write a Wikipedia article (from the Wiki Education Foundation)

Setting up a course What do you need to know Tools for managing courses – the courses extension and the outreach dashboard Links to key Wikipedia policy (no original research, sourcing guidelines etc) Link to the Wikipedia Adventure for people to start editing