Epic talks to Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia and learning
If you’re a web user, then you’ll have almost certainly come across Wikipedia. Co-founded in 2001 by the American internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales, its success has been phenomenal:  with over 3 million articles and over 21 million pages, it has far surpassed any other resource as the largest collection of general knowledge ever compiled. Meanwhile, Jimmy Wales has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential thinkers, and ranked twelfth in Forbes magazine’s Top 25 Web Celebs.

Wikipedia’s contribution to learning has always been controversial – considered by many as a great reference source and tool for learning, it has also come under fire from some for encouraging plagiarism and questionable content. Epic’s Director of Learning, Dr Naomi Norman, recently met up with Jimmy Wales for coffee and a chat. You can hear their discussion, including his views on a range of topics, in the podcasts below: 

 

Wikipedia: accuracy, quality, and can we rely on it for learning? 

 

Wikipedia: what can we learn from it in terms of engagement?

 

Wikipedia: participation and social learning

 

Wikipedia: is it good for knowledge and good for learning?

 

Wikipedia: design and usability for the PC, mobile and iPad

 

Wikipedia and the future: web 3.0 and ubiquitous computing

 

Jimmy comments on the debate motion for the E-learning Debate 2010 at the Oxford Union

 

 

 

Image of Jimmy Wales by Joi Ito used under the Creative Commons Licence.