Wikipedia:Schools/Teachers' Guide

This page tries to answer the main questions teachers may have about Wikipedia. It also suggests a good way of starting to use the Simple English Wikipedia in the classroom. If you don't know much about Wikipedia, read Wikipedia:About for a basic introduction.

Wikipedia aims to be the ultimate learning resource, the sum of all human knowledge. Yet a lot of students may have difficulty understanding the complex language used by the English Wikipedia. They may need a simpler version, which is easier to understand and which should still give them the information they need. The Simple English Wikipedia is an encyclopedia to help make this happen, to give students and learners of English a simple, free resource.

Ideas such as open source, copyleft, collaborative writing, and volunteer contributions for the public good, are sometimes new and unusual ideas in educational settings. Wikipedia offers a chance for educators to explore concepts of public trust which are likely to continue growing in importance during the lives of today's record population of youth.