Learning and Leading - December 2010/January 2011

What? Wikipedia in History Class?

as some readers may guess, I get mixed reactions whenever I share that I use Wikipedia in my history classes. In fact, I use it for more than just reading assignments. I require my students to research and write an article for Wikipedia to become more responsible digital citizens. And it is consistently one of my most successful assignments. It shows students the difference between fact-only writing and analytical writing, it introduces research methods, and it gives them more insight into the workings of Wikipedia, so they understand why they should or should not use it in various situations.

The assignment itself consists of two parts, each graded separately: writing the article and monitoring and improving the article.

Pick a Topic

Choosing a topic is straightforward.

Students pick either a topic related to history that does not have a substantial article already written about it or a topic listed on the history stubs page on Wikipedia—a listing of topics requiring expansion. Thousands of stub articles exist to choose from, including U.S. history, history of science, and military history.

I encourage students to find a topic relevant to their interests, potential careers, or even hobbies. Students have written about various historical topics related to psychology, sociology, engineering, sports, art, and theater, to name a few. I must approve their topic before they can start the assignment. I generally approve topics if I think enough secondary and tertiary sources are available to allow for an adequate article.

By Jeremy Boggs

Lay the Groundwork Then they research the topic and contribute approximately 500 words to the article. The article must include footnotes and reference at least two published books as well as two external websites and link to at least two other Wikipedia pages. Students must use proper formatting for footnotes, headings, lists, links, and other content, per Wikipedia formatting guidelines. They must also create a user account and log in when editing. If an article’s history does not include the user name that each student sent to me at the beginning of the semester, they do not get credit.

Monitor and Improve the Article After publishing, students must watch the article, see if anyone contributes or changes their article, and, if so, connect with these users. The goal is to improve the article, either with other users or individually. If their article becomes flagged for deletion, students must work to avoid having the article deleted. Regardless of outcome, students must write a 500-word reflection on what happened to their article and how their ideas about Wikipedia changed during the semester.

Research the Material
The research process is, more or less,
the same kind of research process
one would expect when assigning a
short term paper. We discuss how to
find resources on particular topics
and how to brainstorm, create out-
lines, etc. I introduce students to the
librarian, who can assist them in their
search for sources. Wikipedia also
has policies about citations, so I make
sure students read the policy on citing
sources and verifiability. Addition-
ally, I discuss uses of different kinds of
sources and Wikipedia’s preference for
secondary and tertiary sources over
primary sources. Student articles must
not contain original research.

Write and Format the Article Probably the trickiest part is showing students how to write for Wikipedia. We spend an entire class period reviewing the page “How to Edit a Wikipedia Article,” particularly the formatting section. Students can practice formatting before working on their articles at Wikipedia’s Tutorial (see Resources at the end of this article). I demonstrate onscreen how to do different kinds of formatting: footnotes, headings, unordered lists, ordered lists, internal and external links, and inserting an image. A useful guide detailing formats for specific content elements is also available.

Publish and Participate

The assignment does not end once the article is published. After publication, students must watch for and participate in any changes taking place in their article, for good or ill. I show them specifically two sections of their article to watch:

History page. I encourage students not to revert things immediately, but to take the time to look at changes, determine if they help or hurt the article, and take the appropriate action.

Talk page. Here, students have to defend their articles or learn from other Wikipedians about how to improve their articles. Community members talk about the article in question, offering suggestions for improvement or declaring reasons the article seems irrelevant and should be deleted.