Writing for Wikipedia

Ken writes about what writing for Wikipedia involves:

1. Clarity, organization, accuracy — basic reporting skills.
2. Teamwork — collaboration skills.
3. Analysis — intellectual skills and the drive to use them at a high level.

He’s decided to collaborate on a post about the poet Donald Justice. And he’s hoping that wiki-writing will push his own writing in some productive ways.

I’m thinking about my “Teacher’s Toolbox” workshop coming up in a few weeks, of challenging the teachers who take it to create a post for Wikipedia. Since it’s 10 hours over a couple of weeks, I may start with Wikis and have them create the post by the end of class. Maybe I could even get them to collaborate with each other. I mean, isn’t this what teachers should be doing anyway? Sharing their knowledge and expertise in writing? The more I think about it, the more a Wikipedia entry might be the best way to start them writing for publication online.

Of course, this means that I’ll be modeling the task…let’s see…how about an extended entry on…Ernie Banks? (Please…no comments on the haircut.)