Composing for Online Audiences in the Writing Classroom: Experiments and Innovations with Wikipedia

Recent scholarship on the use of wikis in the writing classroom has uncovered that these platforms have the potential to enrich both social and process writing pedagogies. On Wikipedia, the most well known wiki, the discussion pages which showcase the agreements and disagreements between editors of a particular entry represent a type of “peer review” in which the participants are deeply invested in the discussion (Hood). Furthermore, that the online encyclopedia is a product of multiple editors’ collaborative work enacts theories of “knowledge and language as social constructs” (Gaza, Hern). Given the encyclopedia’s stature (Wikipedia is now 10 years old) and frequent use, however, much research remains to be done, especially in terms of specific praxis. This presentation, then, is meant to demonstrate how having students compose Wikipedia articles can result in growth in the following areas: audience awareness, writing styles and tones (Wikipedia standards require encyclopedic neutrality); source retrieval, evaluation and incorporation (Wikipedia’s strict adherence to copyright laws gives incorrect citation and documentation very real consequences); notability (subjects of Wikipedia articles must be deemed significant enough to remain online); and a general familiarity with wikis as an example of online discourses and genres. Because Wikipedia articles are subject to peer review by other editors, students can also gain real experience in accountability and publishing. A fuller understanding of these advantages can only be acquired in the actual practice of the assignment, however. To this end, this presentation also seeks to showcase my own efforts at designing a Wikipedia assignment for a Junior-level composition course as well as my own attempts to complete that assignment. Such an endeavor ultimately has two goals: to further imagine the possibilities and limitations inherent in a Wikipedia assignment, and to form a basis from which to theorize about further pedagogical benefits. The innovative nature of such a project will undoubtedly result in significant trial and error. However, the potential for such curricula in the composition classroom needs to be both recognized and shared.