Andrew Knyazev
P.O. Box 173364, Campus Box 170, Denver, CO 80217-3364
Department of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences
University of Colorado Denver
Phone:303.556.8442
Fax: 303.556.8550
andrew.knyazev@ucdenver.edu

Experiences teaching using Wikipedia

Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia that anyone can edit, keeps 
getting more popular with the general public and better accepted in the 
academic community. It is tempting to use it directly for class 
presentations. We share our experience teaching upper undergraduate and 
graduate math classes using Wikipedia.


Complete Abstract

"Mathematics: The subject in which we never know what we are talking 
about, nor whether what we are saying is true." Bertrand Russell, 
1872-1970.

Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia 
project based on an openly editable model. Wikipedia is written 
collaboratively by largely anonymous Internet volunteers. Since its 
creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest 
reference websites, attracting hundred million visitors monthly. As of 
today, there are 3,565,727 articles in English.

Articles are never considered complete and may be continually edited and 
improved. Over time, this generally results in an upward trend of 
quality and a growing consensus over a neutral representation of 
information. It is important to use Wikipedia carefully if it is 
intended to be used as a research source, since individual articles 
will, by their nature, vary in quality and maturity.

Most of Wikipedia's text and many of its images are dual-licensed under 
the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License 
(CC-BY-SA) and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Contributions 
remain the property of their creators, while the CC-BY-SA and GFDL 
licenses ensure the content is freely distributable and reproducible.

Wikipedia articles on mathematics are often well matured and carefully 
written. It is tempting to use them for class presentations using a 
computer projector directly from the Wikipedia web site. It often 
presents new points and brings new light to illuminate the material 
already available in the class textbook. The open-access and 
unrestricted editing of Wikipedia give students an opportunity to 
contribute, and makes teaching an integral component of the creation of 
new knowledge, an initial step toward continuing education, and first of 
all, self-education.

We share our experience teaching upper undergraduate and graduate math 
classes using Wikipedia, specifically, Linear Algebra and Differential 
Equations, Numerical Analysis, and Approximation Theory. There are both 
technical and pedagogical issues related to the use of Wikipedia during 
class lectures. We review the issues and propose some solutions.