Wikipedia and Wikidata at school: advantages and disavantages

Wikipedia, Wikidata and other Wikimedia projects are increasingly used in schools, universities and continuing education, but what advantages can they bring to the educational field? But above all, what are the counter-indications and points of attention? The use of Wikimedia projects helps to train different skills, but are they used correctly and are exploited all the potential that these projects can offer? Starting from specific success cases, both in the Swiss context and in the world, we will analyze these different points.

Weitere Informationen

Wikimedia CH has started to introduce a specific education program in 2017 to support the pressing request from users of Wikimedia projects. Through a survey conducted on the readers of Wikipedia in Switzerland, over 40% indicated education as one of the pillars on which the strategy for the coming years should be based. So Wikimedia CH has taken this path knowing that Wikimedia projects are among the most used but also among the most contested at school and in training. Understanding, therefore, the difficulty, Wikimedia Switzerland wanted to set up its own strategy in the educational field, analyzing and adopting different experiences carried out by other Wikimedia associations in the world. We therefore want to indicate the most relevant and interesting experiences, also explaining the different problems that have been dealt with. Unfortunately, the Wikimedia projects, and especially Wikipedia, are seen as a source of information from which to draw passively, but we forget that behind these projects there is a certain open culture of sharing and discussion. We will propose then those case studies in which we went beyond the simple lesson and explanation of writing or correction of voices. Moreover, Wikimedia Switzerland is also starting to experiment with experimental educational paths such as using Wikidata at school to explain the organization of information and the consultation of databases. Wikimedia CH is therefore interested in sharing these results, showing cases of success but is also ready to gather criticism.

Ablauf der Session

• Introduction: education program in the Wikiverse of Wikimedia
• Highlights:  Some specific cases around the world
• Highlights:  Some specific cases in Switzerland and the strategy of Wikimedia CH
• A specific example: Wikidata at school
• Q&A: Questions and answers

Zielgruppe

The target group is the group of people interested in education (not only teachers), but the presentation doesn’t require specific IT background so it’s open and easy for any audience.

Träger-Organisation

Wikimedia CH
https://www.wikimedia.ch
oliver.roelli@wikimedia.ch