ikipedians have discussed possible solutions to this prob- lem. For example, visitors could have the option of viewing only a version of an article that had been "patrolled," that is, checked for random vandalism, or users could have the choice of seeing an "approved" page or one "pe

lear, Wikipedia's controls and countermeasures are a work in progress, and van- dalism in infrequently read entries can

urid aspects of history, Wikipedia editors shy away from sensationalist interpretations (although not from discussion of controversies about such inter

t them out of business. Good historical writing requires not just factual accuracy but also a command of the scholarly literature, persua- sive analysis and interpretations, and clea

ewer and well-reg

Still, my view is tempered by the recognition that the encounter between professional historians and amateur Wikipedians is likely to be rocky at times. That seems to have been particularly true in the early

My colleagues at the Center for History and New Media interviewed people who regu- larly contribute to history articles on Wikipedia, and a passion for self-education comes through in numerous interviews. A Canadian contributor, James Willys Rosenzweig (no relation), observed tha

But should we blame Wikipedia for the appetite for predigested and prepared informa- tion or the tendency to believe that anyt

Wikipedia's ease of use and its tendency to show up at the top of Google rankings in turn reinforce students' propensity to latch on to the first source they encounter rather than to weigh multiple source

sdom

overblown. You can find bad history in the library, and while much misinformation circula

red historical.5 This is only a very partial and preliminary re- port from an ever-changing front, but one that I argue has profound implications for our practice as histo

Can History Be Open Source? 119 the New York Times (50), the Library of Congress (1,175), and the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica (2,952). In a few short years, it has become perhaps the largest work of online historical writing, the most widely

Professional historians have things to learn not only from the open and democrat- ic distribution model of Wikipedia but also from its open and democratic production model. Although Wikipedia

ia and the Web in general?55 American National Biography Online may be a significantly better historical resource than Wikipe- dia, but its impact is much smaller because it is available to so few people. The limited audience for subscription-based historical resources such as American Na- tional Biography Online becomes an even larger issue when we move outside the borders of the United States and especially into poorer parts of the world, where such subscription fees pose major problems even for libraries. Moreover, in some of those places, where cen- sorship of textbooks and other historical resources is

134 The Journal of American History June 2006 Franklin D. Roosevelt Frm Wldpedla, the ree encyclopeda Rwaits"n hioy (Latest I Earliest) View (r ious 50) (next 50) (201 50 100 250 500) To view a previous versin click the date for that versionm Legend: (cur) a difference wth current version, (last) = dfference wth preceding version, m minor edit .(,) (tent) ~03,00, 28 March 2006 Festtsyrnrewty m (-c ancy) cuMr)ast) 23,41, 27 Masrch006F2M ren se(t POV) S(cur)(last) O 22:39 27 March 2006 AdeiaMae m (-a-*Fr n cvy. t1933 I.t1 .comma) S(cur) (last) 20:00, 27 March 2006 24.229.140.104 (- Marriage and childreK) ? (cur) (last) 0 19:47, 27 Match 2006 Gwermo (Revert to revision 45743664 using ppus) S(cur) (last) 0 19:47, 27 March 2006 66.210.243,158 (-.Maniage and chi?drn) ? (cur) (last) O 1943, 27 March 200 199.227.112-41 (- *Privn crisi S(cur) (ast) C 19:42, 27 March 2006 199.227 112.41 (-Pritvate cAsi*.) ? (cur) (last) 0 , 19:30, 27 March 2006 No Guru m (Reverted edts by 199.227.112 41 to last version by 166t82.242.28) (c (cur) last) 19:00, 27 March 2006 199.227.112A41 (-E*E.ay li.e) ? (cur) (last) 18:30, 27 March 2006 166.82,242.28 (-- Oi rights and refi'u.ees) S(cur) (last) 08,57, 27 March 2006 Ajensen {ranks) S(cur) (last) 06:50, 27 March 2006 Adam Carr (restore early life section - this is a biogaplcal article and facts ike where he was educated ae what people epect to find in a ograpehy ? (cur) (last) 06:13, 27 March 2006 Feafulsymmetry mt (-* Legcy) S (cur) (last) C 06:12, 27 March 2006 Fearfusymmety (- Leay - added GVSU reatest wod irimpact'po) * (cur) past) C 05:45, 27 March 2006 Rjensen (-*Govemao& New Yor, il92 1~9 3- Tar- many) * (cur) (lat) C 05:27, 27 March 2006 RJII (-*GoCl.n oi New Y., .2 .193) S(cur) (last) 0 05:27 27 March 2006 RJIl (- Govor . iw ork, 1928-132 -he tumed a $15 miion surpus into a $90 mition deficit) * (cur) (ast) C 05:10, 27 March 2006 Modulatum m S(cur) (last) O 01:56, 27 March 2006 18.233.1.21 (- eclicn a PrKdet I 1932 - minor grammtr and spefirg) * (cur) (ast) C 01:53, 27 March 2006 FUIll m (-Eiyect as President 1.932- typO a (cur (last) C 01:48, 27 March 2006 18.233.1.21 (Cleaned up (as per Usert5. 190.27 197)) A portion of the revision history page for Franklin D. Roosevelt: The software for Wiki- pedia exhaustively records every change made to an entry and allows a visitor to the site to see each version of the article back to its origin. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title= Franklin D. Roosevelt&action=history.> (March 28,

In coverage Wikipedia currently lags behind the comprehensive American National Bi- ography Online, which has 18,000 entries, but exceeds the general-interest Encarta. Of a sample of 52 people listed in American Nati

ind the last exclusion surprising since we value original research above everything else, but it makes sense for a collaboratively created encyclopedia. How can the collectivity assess the validity

Sanger designed Nupedia to ensure that experts wrote and carefully vetted content. In part because of that extensive review, it managed to publish only about twenty articles in its first eighteen months. In early January 2001, as Sanger was trying to think of ways to make it easier for people without formal credentials to contribute to Nupedia, a computer programmer friend told him about the WikiWikiWeb software, developed by the pro- grammer Ward Cunningham in the mid-1990s, that makes it easy to create or edit a Web page-no coding HTML (hypertext markup language) or uploading to a server needed. (Cunningham took the name from the Hawaiian word wikiwi

Welcome to WTikipelia, a collaborative project to produce a complete encyclopedia from scratch, We started in January 200) and already have over 14,000 articles. We want to make over 100,000 so let's get to work,--anyone can edit any page.-copyedit, expand

History is narrative. We use Wireframe cc to storyboard and experiment with design. Historical narrators of the future will need to think as much about visual, aural, multimedia design.

t the digital age more historically.

So one of the working concepts for the course is that just as the digital can help us to better understand this historical phenomenon, so too this past episode in time—the folk revival (and one might say history in general) can help us get our bearings in the modern, wireless world

Future historians can study what a college student in 2013 made of a college student in 1963 of the folk revival.

How do we study ephemeral historical experience, particularly when it comes to temporary but very powerful aesthetic encounters?

For many undergraduate researchers, the SPP is the first time working on a group project outside of the expected institutionally-determined hierarchy.

and faculty researchers collaborate in a lab setting, utilizing a range of digital tools to explore how postcards and feminist DH practices might engender new historical narratives about the suffrage movement, especially in the United States and Britain.

been made to address issues of international access.49But at least for the moment,global disparities in access to sources for international or transnational history areprofound.

Computational tools can discipline our term-searching if we ask them to.

it is important to note that historians are contributing to these new methods and the scholarly communications ecosystem through the development of and contributions to free and open source s

but also to provide a voice

The National Council on Public History and the American Association for State and Local History decided to publish The Inclusive Historian’s Handbook online as a free resource not only for their members, but also to open the practice of history for diverse communities of practitioners and directly support inclusive and equity-focused historical work

An important milestone occurred in the 1990s when cultural heritage institutions began creating digital copies of their holdings and sharing them online for free.

rather than banning its use, for example, can help students become more digitally savvy and prepared for success in the world

make better use of tools such as PowerPoint and learning management systems to improve the quality of your students' education.

very aspect of their academic and professional lives to involve using networked digital tools of one kind or another, often in the most quotidian ways—

You may opt not to lecture or give tests.

Striking a balance between academic and “how-to” content allows students to see the big picture (why the class and their work in it is important) and to gain skills and digital literacy that will benefit them in other classes and in their professional live

well as how-to articles or videos

Blackboard but encourage the majority of students to post to the web,

Online discussion on learning and management systems like Blackboard will acquaint students with one another in a digital setting and make them more comfortable with commenting on each other’s assignments later in the course.

Then 20 years,” the master responded.  Surprised, the student asked how long it would take if he worked very, very hard and became the most dedicated student in the Ashram.  “In that case, 30 years,” the master replied.  His explanation:  “If you have one eye on how close you are to achieving your goal, that leaves only one eye for your task.”

They may skim books for what they’ll “need to know.” They’re less likely to wonder, say, “How can we be sure that’s true?” than to ask “Is this going to be on the test?”

.Suddenly all the joy was taken away.  I was writing for a grade — I was no longer exploring for me.  I want t