The Wikimedia Israel non-profit association, in collaboration with the Technion’s Social Hub and the Center for Promotion of Learning and Teaching, invites lecturers from all fields of research to join the project of writing Wikipedia articles as an academic assignment.
The project’s goal: To promote the creation and distribution of free and high-quality knowledge from a variety of disciplines by contributing knowledge to Wikipedia. This initiative can be seen as a means of diversifying teaching and learning tools in academic courses, where, as part of the course assignments, students gain experience writing an entry on a topic relevant to the course and worthy of serious coverage in an encyclopedia.
Writing a Wikipedia article as one of the course assignments promotes active learning, both in the context of the course’s specific topics and in the context of general academic skills (such as finding information sources, critical reading, knowledge analysis, and more). It contributes to developing the abilities of an independent learner and 21st-century skills. The assignment also requires students to develop their writing and expression skills, since clear, concise, and accurate writing is required.
Year after year, we witness that lecturers and students participating in writing initiatives feel a great sense of satisfaction as a result of contributing high-quality and free academic content for the benefit of the general public. They undergo a meaningful and exceptional learning and teaching experience that facilitates deep knowledge acquisition and reinforcement, thanks to the writing process.
The project is open to lecturers from all fields of science, engineering, and technology, particularly the fields of biology, chemistry, and all areas of engineering and technology where there are significant gaps in the Hebrew Wikipedia.
Here are some examples of Technion activities within this project:
- A new article, “Public Space“, written last year in Prof. Merav Aharon’s ‘Sociology for Planners’ course at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning. The article has since been viewed nearly 5,000 times.
- As part of the same course, the “Gentrification” article was expanded and updated – an entry with around 30,000 views this year. You can see how little information it had before the revision.
- The article “Porosity“, was written in 2018 as a bonus assignment in Prof. Uri Savit’s course “Physics in a Porous Environment”, and has since been viewed over 6,000 times. Even an article on such a specific topic as the “Vadose Zone” has already been viewed over 2,000 times.
- An assignment to write a Wikipedia article as part of the course ‘Analytical Methods in Biotechnology and Food’, (Lecturers: Prof. Ayelet Fishman, Dr. Omer Yahezkeli, and Teaching Assistant: Omer Sabach) from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.
On 12.01.2022, an exposure meeting was held, in which several examples of possible use within courses at the Technion, were presented. Feedback from the experience of Prof. Mirav Aharon and students who participated in the course was given and a discussion took place on the possibilities of integrating the tool into your courses. You can watch the recording of the meeting at the following link: Recording of the Exposure Meeting: “Wikipedia as a Learning and Teaching Tool” .
In addition, we invite you to visit the Wikimedia in Academia website.
An article published on YNet on the subject: “Academic Assignment: Technion Students Update Scientific Articles on Wikipedia”
Dr. Olga Chuntonov, Head of the Center for Promotion of Learning and Teaching
Ronit Piso, Coordinator of the Social Hub, Technion
Dr. Keren Shatzman, Coordinator of Academia and Activities, Wikimedia Israel
