Slide decks for training sessions
Reading
Wikipedia
in the Classroom
Who are we?
Rukayat Ajeigbe
Certified Trainer for Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom
Oluwakemi Makinde
Project Lead for Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom
Session 1
Welcome to the first training session of the Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom program!
Module 1: Accessing information
By the end of this session you will be able to:
Participation principles
If we have any doubts, we ask new questions
We participate actively and openly
We listen with attention and respect
We complete the assignments on time
We strive to become a supportive and respectful learning community
Getting to know you
Type your answers in the comments!
Why Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom?
Program schedule - Module 1
All assignments should be completed by (DATE) at the latest
Module | Topics | Trainer |
Module 1 Accessing information with Wikipedia | Kemi | |
1.4 Common misconceptions about Wikipedia 1.5 Why use Wikipedia? 1.6 Who writes Wikipedia? | Kemi | |
1.7 Who doesn’t write Wikipedia? 1.8 Navigating Wikipedia 1.9 Other ways to access Wikipedia | Rukayat | |
1.10 Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia 1.11 Knowledge equity, content diversity, and Wikipedia | Rukayat |
Topic 1:
The importance of access to information
1.1 The importance of access to information
Imagine a world where every student has access to the sum of all knowledge, readily available for them to search and reference in their studies.
Freedom of information allows citizens to understand the world they live in, make critical decisions, form their perspectives, and grow into life-long learners.
Of course, freedom of information does not guarantee access to information. If people are prevented from the means to access information (due to paywalls, lack of connectivity, or underdeveloped literacies) then the social gaps that already marginalize certain groups of individuals become stark. As we grow into an information society it becomes of utmost importance to advance the abilities needed to access information and guide students through new technologies.
1.1 The importance of access to information
How do we begin to help our students to navigate the extensive amount of content on the web, make sense of it, and use it to support their learning goals? Searching for information online starts with establishing what it is that you want to know, asking the correct questions or keywords to get the information desired, and using the available channels to reach this information. Wikipedia provides open access to information without any restrictions and it upholds the rights of citizens to access diverse sources of information.
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What is a Wiki
A single page in a wiki website is referred to as a "wiki page", while the entire collection of pages, which are usually well-interconnected by hyperlinks, is "the wiki ". In the Hawaiian language “wiki wiki” means speedy. There are so many websites, apps, and other digital spaces that use the word “wiki.” We may even have used an “internal wiki” in our school or district.
A defining characteristic of wiki technology is the ease with which pages can be created and updated. A wiki enables communities of editors and contributors to write documents collaboratively.
Is every “wiki” related to Wikipedia? No. Many other websites, applications, and networks call themselves “wikis” and are not affiliated with Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation, or the Wikimedia movement. The projects affiliated with Wikipedia are listed on the Wikimedia Foundation website: www.wikimediafoundation.org
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What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that strives to share the sum of all knowledge. It is written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers who write without pay. Anyone with internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles, except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism.
Since its creation on January 15, 2001, Wikipedia has grown into the world's largest reference website, attracting 1.5 billion unique visitors monthly as of March 2020. It currently has more than 54 million articles in more than 300 languages, including 6,133,962 articles in English, with an average of 100,000 active contributors every month. Wikipedia is free and open for everyone.
Wikipedia as an Open Educational Resource (OER).
According to UNESCO, Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation, and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. In 2019, UNESCO adopted a recommendation on OERs, encouraging governments worldwide to support the production, curation, and use of OERs for classroom learning.
Using OERs instead of traditional publications has many benefits. First, it reduces the cost of producing educational materials. Secondly, it gives teachers the ability to freely use, adapt, and remix materials without worrying about copyright infringement
Common misconceptions about Wikipedia
In our work with teachers around the world, we’ve heard a lot of misconceptions about Wikipedia, and unfortunately, they often lead to teachers feeling uncomfortable using this amazing resource. So, let’s take a look at a few of them, and hopefully clear up any misunderstandings:
Edits done to a Wikipedia article cannot be reversed
Common misconceptions
Anyone can add their opinion to Wikipedia and claim it as fact.
Opinions are not allowed on Wikipedia. What gets included in a Wikipedia article should be backed by reliable secondary sources. If someone adds content that doesn’t follow this rule, it will be removed by Wikipedia editors.
Common misconceptions
The editorial control of Wikipedia is left-leaning/progressive/liberal.
No single organization has editorial control over Wikipedia. Wikipedia is entirely edited by volunteers and disputes are addressed through open dialogue on the platform.
Common misconceptions
Edits done to a Wikipedia article
cannot be reversed.
Wikipedia articles are dynamic and continuously improved. New edits can be deleted or reversed and old edits can be restored if necessary.
Common misconceptions
Wikipedia makes students lazy, they’re more likely to commit plagiarism.
When properly introduced and explained, Wikipedia actually empowers students to do self-directed research using the encyclopedia as a starting point. It can facilitate the development of key 21st-century skills that prevent students from committing plagiarism.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work – including their language and ideas – as your own, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Plagiarism is not tolerated on Wikipedia - editors will delete, improve the citations, or modify sections where plagiarism is identified.
Why use Wikipedia?
When you choose books, encyclopedias, worksheets, and other educational materials, what do you look for? In the following section, we outline a few reasons why Wikipedia should be added to your teacher toolbox as an educational resource for students:
Wikipedia cites reliable sources
Wikipedia strives to be unbiased
Who writes Wikipedia?
You do! We all can contribute to Wikipedia.
The people who create and edit articles in Wikipedia come from many countries, and each of them brings something different: researching skills, technical expertise, writing prowess or organizational skills, local knowledge, but most importantly a willingness to help.
Yes, anyone can be bold and edit an existing article or create a new one, and volunteers do not need to complete any formal training. Any contributor to this encyclopedia, unregistered and registered alike, is called a "Wikipedian", or, more formally, an "editor"..
Just be bold to edit the encyclopedia and there you are!
Let’s take a quick break
Stretch. Get a snack. Leave questions on the chat.
5 minutes!
QUESTIONS
Who doesn’t write Wikipedia?
The Wikimedia Movement aims to represent all human knowledge on Wikipedia. This means that coverage should include all languages, cultures, histories, and perspectives.
However, the current makeup of Wikipedia editors does not represent the demographics of the world. This is an issue that the different communities supporting Wikipedia are actively trying to solve. One of the solutions is helping more people understand how Wikipedia works and encouraging anyone interested to become a contributor.
Navigating Wikipedia
Search
Wikipedia contains a search box on every page which you can use to search for information. If it is available it will open, if not it will not open
Languages
Wikipedia is available in more than 300 languages, from English to Tagalog. You can navigate through the different language versions of a Wikipedia article and notice the differences and similarities in each article including the way the information is presented. Each language Wikipedia may have its own rules and dynamics agreed upon by its community of editors.
Navigating Wikipedia
Categories
Categories are intended to group together pages on similar subjects on Wikipedia. Categories help readers to find and navigate around, a subject area, to see pages sorted by title, and to thus find article relationships.
Categories are normally found at the bottom of an article page when you navigate Wikipedia from a desktop. Clicking a category name brings up a category page listing the articles (or other pages) that have been added to that particular category. There may also be a section listing the subcategories of that category. The subcategorization feature makes it possible to organize categories into tree-like structures to aid navigation.
Links
Hyperlinks are an important feature of Wikipedia. Internal links bind the project together into an interconnected whole. Internal links allow readers to deepen their understanding of a topic by conveniently accessing other articles without leaving Wikipedia
However, there are still gaps in the information available on Wikipedia. As you navigate through different Wikipedia articles on your desktop browser you will notice some internal links in red. This means the Wikipedia article about that topic does not exist yet (but it probably should!).
Other ways to access Wikipedia
Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia
Inappropriate content
Wikipedia is written for a general audience. This means it is not edited to remove elements deemed inappropriate for children or censored. It contains articles on subjects such as racial slurs, controversial political and religious issues and movements, and sexual acts, including images of nudity.
However, articles on these topics are based on facts and are not meant to incite or provoke the reader. Articles, including those on human reproduction, may contain anatomical, graphic photographs of sexual organs, which certain cultures may find inappropriate for small children. However, Wikipedia can be configured to hide these images if desired.
Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia
What you can do to make Wikipedia safer:
Wikipedia administrators
On Wikipedia, administrators are trusted members of the community who have the authority to delete articles, block users and protect the wiki from vandalism and inappropriate editing.
Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia
What you can do to make Wikipedia safer:
Wikipedia administrators
On Wikipedia, administrators are trusted members of the community who have the authority to delete articles, block users and protect the wiki from vandalism and inappropriate editing.
To help keep students safe on Wikipedia, you can review the following guidelines with them:
Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia
To help keep students safe on Wikipedia, you can review the following guidelines with them:
Keeping students safe while reading Wikipedia
7. Never post your address or phone/mobile phone number.
8 Don't use your real name for your username.
9 Don't post photos of yourself, your friends, or your family on your user page. People can use this info to find out who you really are, especially if you have used the same information or username on other web sites.
10. Don't start editing your school's page - it's a dead giveaway that you probably go there!
11. Don't write articles about yourself – if you are a really important person, someone else will probably write an article about you.
12. If you posted your own information by mistake, ask an administrator to remove it for you, or you can request it to be oversighted, which hides it. Even if you don't ask, an administrator or other editor may delete it if we know that you are very young. Please don't be upset, as this will be done to keep you safe.
Knowledge equity, content diversity, and Wikipedia
Wikipedia is not a finished project, and there are still significant gaps in the content available across the different language versions. This results in the exclusion, or under-representation, of certain cultures, languages, histories, and perspectives.
Your next steps:
Start working on the Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom - Module 2 Teacher’s Guide. You can print it or save it in your computer.
Your next steps:
Work on the assignments you find at the end of each section. Some sections allow you to take notes directly in the document.
You can take notes by clicking and typing inside the empty boxes before sharing your answers
Your next steps:
Start working on the Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom - Module 2 on the WikiLearn Platform.
Your next steps:
Work on the assignments you find at the end of each section. Some sections allow you to take notes directly in the document.
You can take notes by clicking and typing inside the empty boxes before sharing your answers in the Facebook group too!
Your next steps:
Thank you for your time and active participation!
See you next time!