Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/66

Rh what Boling (2010, p. 2) refers to as a learning design case, that is, “a description of a real artifact or experience that has been intentionally designed.” Our learning design is rooted in our collaborative perspectives on digital competencies and the process of acquiring this learning. Our partnership is also reﬂective, in which we are constantly “observing and mentally storing episodic memories” to improve on our application of collaborative teaching and to create “precedent,” that is, a proactive, continuous gathering of knowledge to apply now or in future learning and our practice (Boling, 2010, p. 4).

(1) Deeper learning through learning design in the classroom using Wikipedia—an academic’s perspective

After many years of working with students to develop their information skills, the instructor adopted an experiential learning approach using Wikipedia to embed fundamental information skills and theoretical principles into the course, DigiComp. Incorporating Wikipedia into the classroom was a ﬁrst in higher education in Ireland—considered bold, if not controversial in 2011. Our collaboration supported students’ development of these essential citizenship skills from different perspectives. The course coordinator/academic instructor provided the course framework and grounded the work in the academic context; the librarian brought practical tools and digital skills training, which augmented course content; and the Wikipedian provided context for writing for Wikipedia and oﬀered essential skills training.

In class, instruction was provided by each team member. For example, students learned about formal and informal channels to information during the course, and importantly the role of factual information and tools, such as encyclopedias, in solving problems. The Wikipedian reinforced this by explaining standards for content development in the online encyclopedia. Similarly, students learned about evaluating and attributing information sources appropriately. The librarian reinforced this learning with instruction around critical thinking and academic integrity. Students then put their learning into action, setting up Wikipedia accounts, locating and verifying information appropriate for an encyclopedia, and referencing their work in an article. Students ran