The College Fix

Although normally frowned upon, some professors are now actually encouraging their students to use Wikipedia — or at least contribute to it.

This year, Steinhardt professor Evan Hill-Ries’ course “Copyright, Commerce and Culture”  will be part of Wikimedia’s Public Policy Initiative, a program aiming to improve the content quality of its public policy articles. The program is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S.-based Stanton Foundation and includes courses from 32 universities nationwide.

In the course, professors assign their students to write Wikipedia articles and campus ambassadors from Wikimedia, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia, help first-time editors in the classroom navigate the site.

This is not the first time Wikimedia has partnered with the academic world to improve the quality of its content, but this is its largest initiative to date.

Twenty-two schools, along with Harvard University, Georgetown University and NYU, are participating in the program.

Read the full story at the Washington Square News.

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter