W15 / What did I learn while editing Wikipedia? How is this assignment different from more traditional student assignments? Is it more fun? / Sangmin Choe

This is my second time editing Wikipedia. I edited it in the last class. Every time I edit Wikipedia, I think about the importance of the community. A community where different people gather to create articles on different topics and share knowledge. In today's society, various things make up an individual's identity. Among them, the Internet community has become an important factor in determining a person's identity. Depending on what kind of community you have, your judgment on the person may vary. I think Wikipedia is a healthy community. This is because various people gather to have a discussion and constructive conversation.

The traditional assignment was professor-centered. It was to do what the professor told me to do. However, this assignment was good because I was able to choose the areas I was interested in and do it autonomously. I'm interested in marketing, so I'm working on an article "Growth hacking". While editing Wikipedia, I learned about Growth Hacking and this helped me a lot in my job interview. It was good to learn Wikipedia and study about areas of interest spontaneously.

What I learned while editing Wikipedia is the importance of collaboration. I once made a mistake in an article. Another editor pointed out my mistake while modifying the article. Thanks to him, I was able to write a better article. Thank him for letting me know what I couldn't find if I edited it by myself. Through this, I learned that we can improve the quality of the results through collaboration.

Also, I learned about the value of diversity. I could see various opinions from various races, genders, and countries on Wikipedia. As I met various opinions and met new ideas, my perspective widened.

I learned that technology is helpful for human intellectual activities. A lot of people say that. The Internet has made people stupid. However, the development of technology such as the Internet is achieving the democratization of knowledge. Wikipedia is a case in point. If we use technology well, we can access various knowledge. 

But I also found a new issue. It is inequality. I can easily access the Internet and access Wikipedia whenever I want or acquire knowledge through YouTube. But there are people who can't. Because the internet environment is poor, there are no digital devices. I think this can further maximize inequality. Some can continue to develop easily, but others can't. While editing, I thought that I would like to meet editors from various developing countries on Wikipedia.

I believe Wikipedia can function as a platform to address inequality. It's free and everyone can access it as long as they have an Internet environment. I will continue to use and edit Wikipedia to democratize knowledge. See you again on Wikipedia.