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A few months ago we shared how a group of university instructors from across Spain decided to join forces to exchange what we had been carrying on with Wikimedia in our classrooms. This is how a Teaching Collaboration Network on Wikimedia in Higher Education was born—one that has only continued to grow since then. During this time, we have exchanged experiences, methodologies, and common goals, convinced that teaching can foster values such as participation, integrity, transparency, and the co-creation of knowledge.

We have just released the interview videos recorded during our meeting, available on YouTube under free licenses and also on Wikimedia Commons. They form a series of brief clips in which the participating instructors describe the goals, good practices, and lessons learned from using Wikimedia projects in the classroom. These interviews complement a book that will be published in the coming months (still in the editing process… collaboration takes time when many schedules must be aligned!). The collection includes 17 short videos in which you might see your own interests or motivations reflected, perhaps inspiring you to take the next step toward integrating Wikimedia projects into your syllabus. The recordings cover fields as diverse as journalism, human anatomy, archaeology, translation, film directing, and more.

With these videos and accompanying resources, we hope to spark curiosity and interest among both educators and educational institutions, encouraging them to join the momentum around Wikimedia in education.

Wikipedia as an Educational Ally: Voices from the Classroom

We know that many educators and students initially look at Wikipedia with some hesitation, questioning its reliability or its role in the classroom. However, experience shows that when used appropriately, Wikipedia can become a powerful ally for learning. As Marta García Sahagún, professor at University Rey Juan Carlos and member of InnovaWiki, states: *“After understanding its possibilities and becoming familiar with its correct use, the relationship with free knowledge changes, and it ends up becoming an ally for students.”*

When instructors and students alike understand how Wikipedia works — source verification, peer collaboration, open knowledge — an attitude shift occurs. Instead of seeing the free encyclopedia as an obstacle, they begin to view it as a valuable tool for developing critical thinking, digital skills, and autonomous learning.

A concrete example of this transformation comes from Ingrid Cáceres Würsig, professor of Translation at the University of Alcalá, who integrated Wikipedia translation into her students’ assignments. She describes her experience as follows: *“The main goal was for students to feel that their work had real meaning […] it also represents a responsibility for them to know that what they translate is public, that anyone can read it. This also has an impact on their employability.”* In her project, students translate Wikipedia articles from German into Spanish, knowing that their work will be published and accessible to thousands of people. This dynamic encourages students to approach the activity with enthusiasm and seriousness, aware that they are contributing to open and global knowledge. At the same time, they gain practical experience they can demonstrate—improving their employability by having participated in a real translation and outreach project.

Testimonies like Marta’s and Ingrid’s reveal the positive impact of incorporating free knowledge into higher education. For students, working with Wikipedia brings additional motivation and meaningful learning: they feel they are contributing something valuable to society by improving content that anyone can consult. As Gema Mañogil Cortés, Journalism student at URJC, notes, it is enriching to see one’s work immediately applied in a real context. For instructors, it means opening the classroom to the world, fostering collaboration, responsibility, and informational rigor.

Join Us!

Our Teaching Collaboration Network is open to any university instructor interested in innovating in their courses through open knowledge. Your area of expertise does not matter; we have seen that wiki-based methodologies work in very diverse fields, as long as they are adapted to the students’ level and context (and carefully planned, even seeking external support when necessary).

If you are interested in joining this community, sharing your experiences, or learning how to use Wikipedia pedagogically (in Spanish), we invite you to become part of the network. On our group’s website, you can learn more about our initiatives, training resources, and upcoming events. We firmly believe that working together and supporting one another allows us to advance both teaching innovation and the culture of free knowledge.

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