Wikipedia: One of the last, best internet spaces for teaching digital literacy, public writing, and research skills in first year composition

Even though Wikipedia is the 5th largest site on the internet and largely the number one source of information for internet searches, it is often ignored or dismissed by academics who teach writing, research, and information literacy. This article explores the potential value of including instruction in Wikipedia writing in the first-year composition (FYC) classroom. This kind of writing project aligns with existing learning goals for FYC and facilitates instruction in digital literacy, multimodal, and public writing skills. This article provides a case study of teaching Wikipedia writing to FYC students with the support of the Wiki Education program. Through writing for Wikipedia, my students practiced advanced research and writing skills as well as process steps such as drafting and soliciting feedback from external readers. Through working with the Wiki Education program, students learn digital literacy skills such as markdown and working in sandboxes. I also discuss the challenges of teaching Wikipedia writing to first-year students, especially in larger classes or when teaching more than 1–2 sections at a time. I conclude with advice for implementing a Wikipedia writing project in the first-year composition classroom.