Home » Teaching & Learning » Teaching with Wikipedia

Teaching with Wikipedia

The Northeastern University Library offers an array of hands-on experiential learning opportunities using Wikipedia as a living laboratory. Through classes, workshops, and edit-a-thons, we encourage deep reflection on issues of inherent bias and representation, information dissemination and access, and community-focused knowledge work. Students consider how to write for a public audience, how to thoughtfully engage in an online community, and how to leverage library collections and resources for a communal knowledge project.

What we cover

As an instructor, you may choose to ask students to complete some of this work, such as creating an account or selecting a topic, outside of class. However, we can also cover these skills as part of a workshop.

Wikipedia Basics

  • Account registration
  • User etiquette: talk pages, sandboxes, and communal editing
  • Page creation and editing tools
  • The publishing process

Research and Writing

  • Identifying topics that lack significant coverage
  • Defining high-quality sources and “notability”
  • Using library tools for research
  • Framing and outlining an article
  • Writing for a general audience
  • Citing sources

Planning a session

Timeline

We ask that you reach out at least 2 weeks before your preferred session date. Sessions can be held in-person on the Boston campus or virtually at any global campus location.

Requisites

Please include your preferred dates and times for the session, your desired learning objectives, and any topics or articles of interest.

Contact Brooke Williams,Research & Student Success Librarian: [email protected].

Past Workshops

Advanced Writing for the Sciences and Technical Professions (AWD 3307 and AWD 3302)

This session introduces students to Wikipedia as a community and as a shared workspace. Students consider how they can adapt scientific and technical information for a general audience and leverage the library’s collections to create or substantially edit a Wikipedia article.

Online Communities (COMM 4625)

Edit-a-thons

Learn More

Watch our bite-sized webinar on teaching with Wikipedia for an in-depth look at how Wikipedia functions.

Notable Pages