The end of throwaway assignments and the beginning of real-world impact for student editors.
Welcome on the page of the education programme in Belgium and the Netherlands! We help educational institutions (such as universities, colleges and others) to make their knowledge and expertise available to the public via Wikipedia and Wikimedia.
Wikipedia is an increasingly important source of information for people all over the world. Wikipedia is among the top 10 most visited websites around the globe and with searching with Google the summarized data is already shown on the right during the search. Wikipedia is often the first place where students, policy makers, professionals, journalists, researchers, etc. look if they want to know more about something.
In Belgium and the Netherlands several projects have been set up in recent years within educational institutions to gain a better understanding of Wikipedia, and in collaboration with Wikipedia/Wikimedia students and staff of educational institutions share their knowledge on Wikipedia. These projects get every year more follow ups in more universities and colleges, which requires practical support from the Wikipedia community. The Benelux education programme is designed to coordinate education and provide support to institutions that get started with Wikipedia.
Possible projects
Practical support with questionsStudents start editing articlesA Wikipedia help desk open for questionsDiscussion of the principles of Wikipedia Bespreking van de principes van Wikipedia as preparation for writing
Several possible projects and activities can be organised, which can be adapted to the curriculum, including:
One or more workshops editing Wikipedia can be organised for teachers and other staff of the institution. In this way a better image can be obtained about Wikipedia, including insight in the fundamental principles and basic practices. The workshops include getting practical experience by starting editing the encyclopedia under our supervision, where questions can be asked to experienced Wikipedia editors.
As part of a course, students can get the assignment to write a Wikipedia article or expand one. They first get an explanation from experienced Wikipedia editors, are told what to pay attention for and learn some practical skills to get started at Wikipedia. There is also room for questions. Instead of having students doing a throwaway assignments, they do a worthwhile assignment where knowledge gained is practical used for the benefit of the real world.
A wiki help desk or wikicafé can be established, where students and staff can come together to work on articles in Wikipedia and/or ask questions about things they encounter in the writing and improve articles.
Another possibility is the organisation of a writing session where a group of people work together on a single article or a series of articles, with the support experienced Wikipedia editors.
Finally, students also can set up a student group to work on Wikipedia articles together.
How can I as educator or staff start with Wikipedia?
As educator or staff member of an educational institution, you are free to work on Wikipedia and edit articles. Wikipedia, however, can function differently from what you would expect and it may therefore be advisable to ask for support from experienced Wikipedia editors or the support from the local Wikimedia associations Wikimedia Belgium and Wikimedia Netherlands.
If you'd like to organize an activity/course in your educational institution, please contact us via e-mail linked below on this page..
We are happy to visit you to explain and discuss the possibilities.
Existing institutions with activities
In Belgium and the Netherlands several projects have been launched with universities, colleges and other educational institutions in recent years.
Most of these projects and activities are shortly described on a summary page for each institution:
Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg
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