Edit 2023/Wikipedia and academia: An examination of a critical, but complex relationship: 2024/Main Page

This submission has been accepted for WikiConference North America 2023.

Since its outset, Wikipedia has had a complex and evolving relationship with academia. When the Wikipedia Student Program began in 2010, it was the rare faculty who embraced Wikipedia as a potential teaching tool, let alone as a trusted resource. 13 years later, Wiki Education now regularly supports over 300 Wikipedia assignments at the post-secondary level each term. Because of our position as a bridge between academia and Wikipedia, Wiki Education is in a unique position to offer insights into the role that Wikipedia now plays in higher education, and the ways in which academia can provide critical support for Wikipedia's continued success.

In this panel, you'll hear from three Wiki Education staff who work closely with faculty, students, and the Wikipedia community. Helaine Blumenthal, Senior Program Manager, Ian Ramjohn, Senior Wikipedia Expert, and Brianda Felix, Wikipedia Expert, will explore the current state of this critical relationship. Topics to be discussed include, current perceptions of Wikipedia in higher education, the role that Wikipedia can play in creating a digitally literate student population, how faculty and students help tackle critical issues around knowledge equity and diversity on Wikipedia, the growing role of Wikipedia in open education and open pedagogy, ways in which the Wikipedia community and academia converge and diverge, and the future of their relationship.