Semalt: How Wikipedia Inspires Institutional Learning

Wikipedia is considered to be the most crucial source of useful information on the Internet. In the past, teachers and scholars recognized Wikipedia as a destination site where misleading news and rumors were spread. With time, this notion has changed, putting into consideration the set rules and standards that check all the information before it is uploaded on Wikipedia.

Besides, inaccurate and misleading information is quickly edited by comprehensive editors who are committed and dedicated to making Wiki a better place for learners. Most people visit Wikipedia looking for clarification of controversial topics.

Julia Vashneva, the Semalt Senior Customer Success Manager, says that Wikipedia is governed by a set of guidelines, policies, and notable standards. The Wikipedia community does not approve upload of articles without necessarily citing sources. Wiki inspires students, teachers, and the entire education fraternity to create fresh content and includes it in Wikipedia, bearing in mind that their work informs the general public seeking for well-sourced articles.

For the past few years, Wikipedia has been helping teachers to create practical Course Wiki's, hence facilitating practical applications to topics learned in class. Currently, there is more than 120 high learning institutions project in Wikipedia. Jon Beasley, a professor at the University of Columbia, was the first scholar to inspire students to create an article for Wikipedia, mostly focusing on literature.

In order to meet all the Wikipedia standards and policies, Professor Beasley instructed his students to contact Wikipedia support team before posting content, to receive further guidelines. This case scenario gave students a deep understanding of how Wikipedia works and the format required when creating articles to be uploaded on Wikipedia.

Generating an article that'll be posted on Wikipedia is not that easy. Learning and understanding Wiki format is of uttermost importance to avoid deletion of your article. Revising and proofreading articles more than twice is advocated by volunteer editors. Adding more content to already existing entries is considered to be an easy task for students as compared to generating new content. This helps students to learn about editing skills and having more experience on article proofreading. Students are advised by their project instructors to work in groups to obtain valid results.

Hosting a Course Wiki

Wikiversity is an outlet that has primarily contributed to the progress of higher learning institutions students. Wikiversity enables students to upload their content that is made public for other students to access and learn. Instructors are responsible for creating Course Wiki, loading course outlines, lesson plans, and additional relevant information required by students when designing their projects.

Course Wiki provides students with necessary information regarding a particular course in advance. In the long run, students get ample time to decide on whether to take a specific course or not. Wikiversity pages provide students with a place where they can quickly add and edit the content of a particular course. In most instances, students use Wikiversity pages to post projects learned during a session, adding citation sources, and recommending useful materials.