[Vision2020] Wikipedia Aims Higher

[Kenneth Marcy]

Wikipedia Aims Higher 
July 11, 2011 
BOSTON — The United States’ foremost custodian of public records had advice 
for professors whose colleagues still turn up their noses at Wikipedia.
"If all else fails, you can tell them, 'If it’s good enough for the archivist 
of the United States,' " said David Ferriero, who was appointed to the post in 
2009, " 'we should at least take a look at it on campus.' "

Five years ago, many professors had pegged Wikipedia as a pariah. Now, four 
years into its first coordinated effort to recruit professors and students to 
its cause, Wikipedia’s overseers believe they have successfully recast the 
free, publicly edited encyclopedia as an ally of respectable scholarship.

Two dozen universities now have courses where students are working on 
Wikipedia as part of their formal coursework. Many of those campuses have 
“Wikipedia ambassadors” tasked with helping professors weave writing and 
editing Wikipedia entries into the syllabus. Even Ferriero’s office at the 
National Archives and Records Administration now employs a “Wikipedian in 
residence” in charge of fostering relationships with galleries, libraries, 
archives and museums.

Late last week, the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the encyclopedia, took 
another step toward assuming the mantle of an accessory of higher education: 
it held an academic conference. The first-ever Wikipedia in Higher Education 
Summit convened professors who had incorporated Wikipedia into their teaching, 
as well as others who were considering doing so, to talk about pros and cons 
of assigning students to improve the publicly edited online encyclopedia.

The foundation also made it clear that Wikipedia plans to expand its 
relationship with academe.

http://tinyurl.com/6ghah6y 

Above are the first 269 words of an article from Inside Higher Ed at the URL 
above. The remaining 1,092 words in the article may also be read there. 


Ken