7 reasons to bring Wikipedia in the classroom

Museu Picasso leaded a project of post-degree students writing Wikipedia articles about Catalan Museums 

One of the many ways in which museums can collaborate with Wikipedia is through their educational department . Sometimes museums don't know how to extend  the relationship with schools and Universities  further than just a day-visit. Expanding or translating museum-related articles on Wikipedia is a great way to do it. Here we have some basic reasons:

1. Is a proactive way to learn
2. History pages show the student's evolution of work
3. Students can work at different paces
4. Promotes teamwork and consensus
5. Is a public good : All school work is returning to society
6. Encourages critical thinking, desacralising the written word 
7. Encourages motivation

Emerging illustrators internship helping Wikimedia Commons

The Great Reform with illustration - Hampeln, Ivan Sytin

The Escola de la Llotja is an art and design school located in Barcelona, where several important painters as Picasso studied. Llotja and Amical Viquipèdia have begun a pioneering partnership in which 6 illustration students are doing their final degree internship at Amical, creating images that will be incorporated under free licenses to Wikimedia Commons to illustrate some Wikipedia articles.

We have identified and listed some entries with missing images, and the emerging illustrators of La Llotja will help us with the task of creating professional and informative images according to the encyclopedic context which they will be published.

It is an opportunity for them to work in a real context, public and very visible, while contributing to a public good that is being built collaboratively and is useful for many people.

Educational Community and Wikipedia have several ways of collaboration. This is just another one. Once we get our firsts results, we will upload them and tell you about it!

This post is a derivative work of a text published by DvdGmz here originally in Catalan.