Similar to pretty much all of the assignments for this course, the idea of creating my own page for Wikipedia was extremely daunting. I had no idea how I was going to think of a topic that had not already been covered by someone else; it seems like everything is on Wikipedia! However, I knew panic and despair were not friends to success or clarity, so I banished them from the room for a time so I could properly think. In prayer I offered up a cry of help and received an answer very sincere.
The Valley of Vision came to mind, so unexpectedly perfect for the occasion. It’s a book I have recently been reading over daily but didn’t happen to know much about. It also had never been before written about or recorded among the vast collections of wikipedia pages. Therefore, it would both fit into the requirements for our assignment and also contribute to my knowledge about a book I was interested and invested in personally. Inspiration hit and gratefulness followed, even if it should have led the way. I then outlined my plan for the piece and later began its construction.
I first read up on everything that our professor and wikipedia had to offer in regards to writing your first wikipedia page. I also had to start up my own profile on wikipedia and edit a few random articles to initiate myself for the eventual formulation of my own. Then the production of The Valley of Vision on wikipedia began. I found all I could about the book itself and the author who created and collected the writings for this work, which was very little. Slowly I composed the information into a wikipedia page of my own, trying to provide all the references and citing as much as possible. When I had done all I could, well then that was that and to publishing it went. I don’t think it will ever make it into a real wikipedia page, but I had accomplished my part.
On looking back a major takeaway is that research, referencing, revision, and citing for wikipedia contribute to its creation a lot more than I thought. Throughout my school career I’d always heard the bad things about wikipedia; how anyone could just start adding to it and therefore it wasn’t to be trusted as a factual source. However, this assignment to create my own page showed me how much effort is put into making wikipedia factual and true. You can’t just post anything you want. Wikipedia takes the facts seriously and although anyone is welcome on board, there is a long and in depth process of editing and revising before it can be officially published.
It is also interesting to think about how anyone could be reading and editing your published article in the future. Someone off in Zimbabwe could be correcting me about the correct placement of a noun while another right next-door to me could tell me to switch around the facts. The way it draws people together in the pursuit of true knowledge and community based learning is delightful and encouraging.
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