Whatever their shortcomings, neither encyclopedia appears to be as error-prone as one might have inferred from Nature, and if Britannica has an edge in accuracy, Wikipedia seems bound to catch up.
In other Wiki news, have you heard about Wikiversity?
The main goal of Wikiversity is not just to impart knowledge but to facilitate learning. The collaborative model of the wiki will be applied to an e-learning framework. This differs significantly from a classic university model, although it does acknowledge the growing acceptance of a social theory of learning in pedagogical and academic practice.
Wikiversity will not prohibit research, though it need not necessarily be a part of every course. In the technical training aspects of its work, its goal is not to discover new things, but to teach things which are already known to new people. At a higher level of education, there will probably have to be some scope for students to do their own research, whether a survey of the literature or of primary research, though this will have to be monitored carefully, and will be dependent on the type of course offered.
Wikiversity does not yet certify student’s mastery. We currently have no way of assuring who is doing the work for a course. We have no way ensuring that every course that would be required for a degree has enough teachers to even attempt it. We attempt to teach the same material many accredited schools do, and to teach the material as well (or better!). But we are not yet an accredited university. There is no guarantee that we will attempt to gain accreditation in the future. It is an open question with diverse opinions within the current community of participants whether accreditation and the ability to award recognized credentials will be useful or effective in the performance of our mission to facilitate free learning. It is already clear that Wikiversity will be a radically different kind of learning platform/environment/resource and its identity and scope will be continually shaped by its students and its practitioners.
Our goal, therefore, is to teach the material to whomever wants to learn it, to the best of our ability and theirs. We set out the materials needed to learn, and set up a framework for collaborative learning and teaching. It is the task of the self selected participants to work towards actual mastery of desired skills sufficient and necessary to pursue personal goals.
And since I don’t remember if I posted this before, it’s a great wiki resource for librarians.
You guessed it, it’s Wiki Wednesday!
Before I said that, I didn’t even know it was an actual phenom.