Page values for "Submissions:2023/Small Steps for Students, Giant Leaps for Wikikind: Developing Wiki Literacy in the Composition Classroom"

I have been integrating wiki into my composition classroom at LaGuardia Community College since 2014. Initially, collaborative team-based editing of Wikipedia articles was the norm. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborative group work became quite challenging. In response, I shifted towards individual projects with a broader objective: the co-creation of a Wikibook. Through this experimentation, I discovered that individual contributions on Wikibooks give the students a deeper comprehension of the wiki platform, its guidelines, and its policies when compared to team-based endeavors. Students also gain confidence in completing wiki projects, which increases their willingness to engage with wiki content across various contexts. Thus, while a worthy project all on its own, Wikibooks could be regarded as a stepping stone or gateway towards further exploration and participation in diverse wiki projects. At LaGuardia, students' wiki literacy may extend to involvement in the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives GLAM or even a translatathon, thereby transcending mere class assignments and fostering a lifelong commitment to editing.

Building upon this model, my presentation will discuss the why and the how of a comprehensive wiki literacy education. The need for such an approach is particularly significant within the composition classroom, where the core objective is to equip students with the ability to write adeptly within various frameworks and catering to diverse audiences. By embracing multiple types of wiki, educators can cultivate a broader range of skills and empower students to adapt their writing to a myriad of contexts, nurturing versatility and proficiency in communication.

I've hinted at it in WikiWednesdays and Wikipedia Day