1.
Reinforcing the bridge between researchers
and global citizens by means of Open
Knowledge culture
On the Social Impact of Wikipedia
Miquel Duran, Fernando Blasc, Sílva Simon, Pep Anton Vieta, Josep
Duran
Càtdra de Cultura Científica i Comunicació Digital
Universitat de Girona
@miquelduran – usuari:quelet
#sis2016 Barcelona, 27/6/2016
This PPT: http://goo.gl/JQfBrN

2.
Micro CV
University professor. Research in
Quantum Chemistry. Digital Science
Communication, Magic and Science,
MOOCs, TEDx events, Open Knowledge
http://miquelduran.net
@miquelduran aka @quelet
Wikipedia: user:quelet

3.
What is Open Science?
Open science is the movement
to make scientific research, data
and dissemination accessible to
all levels of an inquiring society,
amateur or professional. It
encompasses practices such as
publishing open research,
campaigning for open access,
encouraging scientists to
practice open notebook science,
and generally making it easier to
publish and communicate
scientific knowledge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_science

4.
https://www.fosteropenscience.eu

5.
Public Engagement with Open Science
Sharing concepts, ideas, and data
openly on the Internet can result
in intellectual property abuse,
and excessive engagement in
social media may cause a loss of
reputation among peers.
However, when practiced
skillfully, Public Science 2.0 is
likely to inspire lay-people and
researchers alike.
https://edunoming.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/ciencia-oberta-ciencia-publica/

6.
Flipping Chemistry Classrooms
C&EN 25/3/2013

7.
NYT & MOOCs (20/4/13)
2012: The Year of the MOOC
• Open Educational Resources
• Learning path
• Interaction between participants
• Annotations

8.
Actual impact: CC licenses

9.
Wikipedia and open knowledge:
another form of communication
We need more diverse
institutional forms so
that researchers can find
(or found) the kinds of
organizations that best
channel their passions
into contributions that
enrich us all
https://edunoming.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/wikipedia-i-ciencia-oberta-algunes-notes/

10.
Wikipedia and University: an
increasing relationship
Where Wikipedia has poor-
quality articles, we should
regard it as a great opportunity.
Researchers and educators,
especially in social science,
should get involved in
improving the site both for
- its educational value and
- to promote their areas of
study to a truly global
audience.
http://edunomia.net/diari/edunomia/arxius/2014/la-wikipedia-i-la-universitat-una-creixent-relacio.html

11.
Science, Scientists and Wikipedia: an
enticing subject in a complex world
• Multlinguism needs
energy, time and
sometimes money.
• Writing science entries
in Wikipedia needs
energy and time: one
must write accurately
and the task is endless
• Both should be handled
in a low-cost way
http://edunomia.net/diari/edunomia/arxius/2015/ciencia-cientifics-i-wikipedia-un-tema-engrescador-en-un-mon-complex.html

12.
Where is Wikipedia along the Gartner Cycle?

13.
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3114217

14.
Charles Darwin would…
Blog
Twitter, facebook, instagram…
Wikipedia sister projects
But perhaps not wikipedia itself!
... Except on other subjects

15.
Wikipedia…
• Is an encyclopaedia, not a journal where to
publish original research or a magazine to
publish opinion (that’s what blog are for,
aren’t they?)
• Content must provide proper references
• The concept of “our Wikipedia page” does not
exist

16.
Using Wikipedia to impact Society?
• Scientists:
– Use Creative Commons licenses / open knowledge
– Learn about and use projecte associated to Wikipedia
– Create content, research of integration
– Create lower-level entries
• Non Scientists:
– Read and aseesss difficulty of entries
– Create plain content targeted to nonscience audiences
– Translate
– Increase scientific culture (+training)
• Prolific Wikipedia contributors & editors:
– Broaden basis of editors, increase awareness
– Contribute to change at universities and overall
education

17.
A few clues about OK & W
• Open Knowledge does not mean
Understanding by All
• Sometimes (or often) it is better that someone
outside the actual field of knowledge provides
dissemination (e.g., Martin Gadner & math)
• Entries should have a general-public level

18.
• Schools should be able to edit Wikipedia
and/or curate open content – a new
competence of citizens
• Scientists, university students, scholars,
curious-minded people... Everyone is key to
disseminate open knowledge
• Wikipedia is currently one of the key aspects
of freedom
• Do not say “there’s an error” – correct it!
A few clues about OK & W

19.
Wikpedia and Science
• Indeed multilingualism generates challenges,
and scientific concepts cause an even more
challenging task. Actually Sciene in wikipedia
has a heterogeneous level and the amount of
entries is much lower that in other fields of
knowledge.
•

20.
Wikpedia and Science
• Wikipedia and Open Knowledge allow anyone
to access available knowledge, but also allow
anyone to communicate it. This is doubly
democratic idealism, indeed. We need more
diverse institutional forms so that researchers
can find (or found) the kinds of organizations
that best channel their passions into
contributions that enrich us all

21.
Wikpedia and Science
• Scientists still face critical barriers to change,
which are not technical or financial; they are
social. Although scientists guard the status
quo, they also have the power to change it.

22.
But Wikipedia is not alone!
• Wikitexts
• Wikibooks
• Wiikidata
• Wiki…xyzt
• And OpenStreetMap, Open Trnanslation
Project, Open Beer, Maker Movement,

23.
On the social impact of Open
Knowledge
• Knowledge economy has been too restricted
so far to a particular part of the population.
Open Courses, Open Educational Resources,
Wikipedia, Youtube/streaming video to
smartTVs, and similar tools empower the
underdeveloped and underprivileged parts of
the Society.

24.
On the social impact of Open
Knowledge
• Fast access to the Internet is becoming
ubiquous, and mobile phones are becoming
more affordable. Furthermore, video creation
and consumption has reached a wide level of
simplicity. However, clever use of technology
and Internet access is still dividing social
groups – if not widening.
•

25.
On the social impact of Open
Knowledge
• Provinding new opportunities and building
bridges betwen citizens and educators (at all
levels, including continued education) is likely
to close the digital divide. Research and
innovation in Open Knowledge seems to
contribute to reinforce those bridges.
• Public engagment with Science is a
bidirectional process

26.
On the social impact of Open
Knowledge
• Scientists, scholars and universitites lead the
rankings of public perception, and people
trust them. It is their duty to pursue an
improvement using the tools provided by the
Internet, so their advances, their creation of
knowledge and their mastery of academic
fields be used effectively by anyone, anytime,
anywhere.

27.
SO
There are many reasons to communicate science openly in the Net, they are
APPEALING
Communicating openly Science means having the right attitude, rather than having the
suitable resources.
WHY DON’T YOU
Publish n open-access journals, start a blog, open a twitter account or set up
instragram photostream - And edit Wikipeida
AND
Tackle an idea, talk about an event, deal with a moment in history, criticize science in
newspapers and media, curate content
AND PLEASE SHARE
This talk

28.
Key ideas to (tweet and to) take away
• The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds
new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...‘
(Isaasc Asimov) (also “Oh My God!, as noted by Nobel Prize S
Glashow)
• Education is not a preparation for life. Education is life itself
• Open Knowledge is the Future. Be part of it!
• Presentation CC-BY-SA at http://slideshare.net/quelgir
• Thanks for your attention!