Collaboration, Virtual Community, and Students

Citizen journalism refers to a wide range of activities in which everyday people contribute information or commentary about news events. With the birth of digital technologies, people now have unprecedented access to the tools of production and dissemination. Citizen journalism epitomizes the belief that the experiences of people personally involved with an issue present a different -- and often more complete -- picture of events than can be derived from the perspective of an outsider. Citizen journalism encompasses content ranging from user-submitted reviews on a Web site about movies to wiki-based news. It forces contributors to think objectively, asking probing questions and working to understand the context -- the kinds of activities that lead to deeper learning.

The structure of the traditional term paper can limit its educational value. To make the assignment more meaningful, students published their papers in Wikipedia. This session will examine how publishing for a large online community motivated students to do better work and deal with issues of voice, knowledge, and community.

A professor and a technology specialist discuss their attempt to bring term papers out into the open with the resource many faculty members abhor.