From Poetry to Palmerstown: Using Wikipedia to Teach Critical Skills and Information Literacy in A First-Year Seminar

ABSTRACT

Wikipedia can serve as an effective, engaging tool for teaching key information literacy skills. This article examines the experience of seven faculty members and over four hundred students who edited Wikipedia as part of a first-year seminar. We review the literature surrounding the pedagogical value of Wikipedia and then discuss our goals in using it as a learning assessment. We show that Wikipedia can be used to introduce advanced concepts such as systemic bias as well as to reinforce fundamental skills such as referencing. We conclude by offering practical suggestions for embedding Wikipedia into information literacy instruction.

KEYWORDS:

• Wikipedia
• information literacy
• first-year seminar