WikiVoyage, the latest initiative from Wikipedia parent the Wikimedia Foundation, dubs itself “the free, worldwide travel guide that anyone can edit.” Rather than attempt to cover all knowledge like Wikipedia, this site concerns itself only with information of use to travelers.
How is this helpful to educators? Of course, those who travel – say, to the ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago – can read up on where to eat, what to see, and how to get around. But it also suggests a host of potential instructional activities, ranging from the obvious cultural and geographical themes to nuanced information literacy questions.
Teachers have long engaged students using Wikipedia, asking them to verify information or even edit entries themselves to better understand the nature of information they find on the hugely popular site. This offshoot wiki presents a whole host of new issues to grapple with. For instance, its “Welcome, Wikipedians” page describes the difference in scope, style and purpose between the two wikis. They’re actively recruiting users to add and clean up content, an opportunity for students of diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds to share knowledge and learn how, and why, different wikis have different rules.
It doesn’t hurt that reading and sharing information about travel is more accessible and fun than most topics. And for the travel-averse, there’s always the chance to read about your hometown and share your favorite things about it. Check out WikiVoyage at http://en.wikivoyage.org.
