Challenging how knowledge is created.

Over the holidays I went to a seminar in Adelaide to see Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, whose mission is to make the sum of all knowledge freely available to everyone. In his words, "the entire project is one of love". I think that this mission and values will resonate with ALL teachers. It was almost a religious experience for me as he explained how the thinking behind Wikipedia is based upon the thinking and methods associated with Free Open Source Software , Free Culture and to some degree Creative Commons. One of his predications is that within 10 years the cost of text books to schools will be $0. Wikipedia has and continues to be an outstanding success.

His latest project is Wikia which is based on similiar values. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia where contributors understand that neutrality is a key goal. Wikia however allows people to write, read and interact with materials with their particular bent or focus. It is possible with Wikia to create knowledge as seen through the eyes of a Muppet fanatic for example. The front page of Wikia only shows some featured wikia projects. The list of projects is far greater (look for 'browse wikis by category'). Some are not much at all at this stage, others have stalled and can be adopted while others are enormous in a very short time.

When I briefly investigated Wikia as a bit of a seminar follow up I discovered one on Psychology. This has not been going for long but this text seems to be growing at a great rate of knots and is, to me, a brilliant example of things to come.

Following the presentation of Jimmy Wales I was part of an eight person panel that spoke about the implications of what he had to say on our various sectors. I represented teachers and the notes that I prepared for this are available on my blog. Our school values of trust and respect featured highly in my presentation.

Online discussions relating to the Jimmy Wales series of seminars across Australia are being tagged with 'eduausem2007'. A search for this tag will reveal a lot of chatter about the tour and people's feelings and interpretations. At this stage you will have to go to page 4 of a Google search to see any of my contributions to these discussions :-(

Panel members from left to right

● Mark Pesce, Author and panel MC (standing)
● Peter Ranieri, Year 12 Maths and Science School
● Kevin Richardson, Principal, Immanuel College
● Nel Svendsen, Manager Customer Service, State Library of South Australia
● Jennnifer Lyon- Reid, Creative Director, Tallstoreez.com
● Peter Ruwoldt, ICT Coordinator, Grant High School Mt Gambier
● Peta Pash, TAFE SA Program Leader, Design, Arts, Information Technology and Related Industries
● Ian Reid, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Flexible Learning Centre
● Jimmy Wales