Using Wikipedia to Reenvision the Term Paper

Andreas Brockhaus, Manager, Learning Technologies, University of Washington BothellMartha Groom, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington Bothell
Abstract: To enhance the learning experience of a term paper, students were required to publish their papers in Wikipedia. Publishing for a large audience provided authentic feedback and encouraged students to do their best work. Using Wikipedia also allowed students to connect with a vibrant community and share their knowledge by making their papers publicly accessible.
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My Notes
Publishing for a large audience with blogs and podcasts is something I don't hear enough about. I have heard a lot of k-12 teachers talking about using Wikipedia as an outlet on various podcasts before. For younger kids this is undoubtedly rich.
Technology (Wikipedia) is manageable - yes this is so important in all our work.
A smile when the students think about how many people might be actually looking at their contribution.
George Siemens said in ELI in jan: "Wikipedia content is 'relaible enough' - most importantly is is current and accessible." Currency and accessibility are surely an important attributes of authenticity.
There's a poll going on: What do you think is the greatest barrier to using Wikipedia as part of a class project? and Reliability of content (even in this group) is still seen as main issue people have followed by finding a topic to publish.
He demos how a student's wikipedia article comes up as #1 in Google. That makes them feel good.
There's discussion about whether this is manageable and some are saying setting up a private wiki would be preferable - missing the point! It's not about using wikis it is about contributing to global knowledge on a global stage.