they could use, for example, we decided it would be helpful to reinstate a unit on digital media and copyright that coincided with the WikiEdu module on contributing images and media files. Furthermore, we worked together to nd the topics throughout the semester where class discussions could reflect on editing Wikipedia. Early classes, for example, focused on understanding points in history where Internet technologies were developed to serve communal, rather than commercial, goals, yet material infrastructure shapes who actually gets to engage with different Internet technologies (Curran, 2012; Lobato, 2019). A student later reflected that “Wikipedia is one of the ultimate crossroads between technology and culture, as its foundation is built on the mission to provide free information for all through the community.” But, another student noted, “Depending on the technology (internet connection and a reliable PC) and sources we have access to, it affects the information we add to the article, and that in turn affects what information the public gets access to.” The Wikipedia project made tangible lessons about the importance of understanding the cultural, material, and human infrastructures of digital technologies and critically addressing questions of representation and access to Internet-based media and communication technologies.
Moreover, students connected the work that they did in Wikipedia to topics that were only briefly touched on in class. A discussion on hacking, for example, included the story of Aaron Swartz, who took his own life after being charged with computer fraud and abuse when he downloaded and planned to distribute millions of academic articles from JSTOR for free; the charge could have resulted in millions of dollars in penalties and decades in jail (Gustin, 2013). This served as a chance to talk about how academic publishing works, how knowledge can and should be shared, as well as the students’ own privileged access to academic materials they o en take for granted. And students articulated these takeaways in their final papers:
What makes this Wikipedia assignment different from other assignments I’ve had in the past is the impact it has had on how I perceive higher education. It was a refreshing change from the endless cycle of research papers
