Wikimedia Israel leads educational programs that enable Arabic-speaking students to move from being only consumers of information to becoming active content creators on Wikipedia. As part of the “Students Write Wikipedia” program, students write and improve articles in Arabic Wikipedia, taking part in a meaningful educational process that combines developing research skills, academic reading and writing, collaborative work, and digital literacy.
Why is this important?
Many studies indicate significant gaps across numerous metrics between the achievements of Arabic-speaking students and those of Hebrew-speaking students. The achievements of Arabic-speaking students are significantly lower, but with investment in suitable programs and infrastructure development, these gaps can be narrowed.
In the “Students Write Wikipedia” program, teachers lead a classroom process for learning the principles of writing in Arabic Wikipedia. Throughout the process, students creatively and experientially apply what they have learned, based on digital literacy, with close guidance from the association’s team, throughout the entire article creation process. This includes gathering information sources, critical reading, encyclopedic writing, editing, and ultimately publishing the articles in the Arabic Wikipedia.
The program’s central goal is to cultivate a wide range of relevant skills and capabilities that support integration into academia and life in the 21st century. It enables students to write and produce free content in formal Arabic using the Wikipedia platform and digital tools.
The program includes teacher training that enriches educators’ pedagogical toolkits with modern instructional methodologies. Since encyclopedic writing spans all areas of human knowledge, the program can be implemented in any subject area. It also provides significant added value to students, including improved language skills and the opportunity to incorporate content related to their local heritage into a widely accessible knowledge repository.
For high school students, the program is recognized as an alternative assessment for 30% of the matriculation grade in humanities subjects.
How does it work?
- Teacher training – The teacher training courses, totaling 30 academic hours, are held online (via Zoom) and are intended for teachers who wish to lead the process of writing Wikipedia articles in their schools. Each teacher receives personal guidance during the course, which concludes with a celebratory workshop for uploading articles to Arabic Wikipedia. Both students and teachers have the opportunity to contribute to free knowledge.
- Within the GEFEN Program: “Students Write Wikipedia” Since 2023, Wikimedia Israel has been registered in the Gafen system, and the “Students Write Wikipedia” program in Arabic appears in the Gafen database of programs and responses (Program No.: 23672). The program is recommended for students in grade 7 and above, and high school students participating in the program are eligible for 30% alternative assessment in Arabic.
Program Growth
Since its launch in 2019, dozens of schools and hundreds of students have participated, writing and expanding hundreds of articles in Arabic Wikipedia. In recent years alone:
- In 2021 – 8 schools participated and 67 articles were written.
- In 2022 – 12 schools participated and 117 articles were written.
- In 2023 – 21 schools participated and 264 articles were written.
- In 2024 – 53 schools participated and 673 articles were written.
Meaningful Education
Students participating in the program experience active and productive learning, contribute to the community, and receive significant reinforcement for their sense of capability. They gain useful tools for their future academic and professional paths, while also contributing to social values of knowledge sharing and strengthening the digital representation of the Arab society in Israel.
