Google's Knol Launches: will professors contribute?
I thought some folks here might be interested in the launch of Google's online encyclopedia, Knol, which became publicly available yesterday, July 23: knol.google.com. This is not a topic that relates to web development per se, but it is an important event for web culture at universities. After so much complaining, often vociferously, about wikipedia, will university faculty step up to the plate and contribute to Knol? I keep waiting for universities to embrace the opportunity to contribute to global knowledge online - is Knol possibly a tool that can help make this happen?
Although it seems unlikely that it will ever achieve the scope of wikipedia (?), Google's Knol offers one important difference from wikipedia: the articles in Knol are attributed, and changes to those articles are moderated by the author. There can be competing articles on a given topic, each attributed to a specific author (or a group of authors working in collaboration). You can learn more in the Help section of knol.google.com.
Of course, I felt compelled to contribute an article about Aesop along with an article about a typical fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The articles are listed here - each author creates a profile page to establish their credentials, and then the articles you contribute are listed down the side in the right-hand column: Knol Author Page. For academics, it is comparatively easy to establish credentials in this way - and Knol definitely favors those authors who can quickly and efficiently establish their credentials.
I personally find wikipedia to a great resource, but I know there are many teachers and professors who feel differently, and even forbid their students from using wikipedia. Well, here is a great opportunity to provide an online alternative to wikipedia - and my idealistic sense says that everybody has something of value to contribute! I know that what I can contribute here is material related to Aesop and Aesop's fables. I would urge everybody who also has a sense of what they want to contribute to log on and write an article, and to promoting awareness of the Knol throughout the university. The interface is easy to use (you can insert links, images, etc.). By sharing our efforts at this nice new online resource, professors can definitely make a positive contribution to educational resources available to our students online. I hope that Google's Knol will be widely used by university faculty, especially by faculty at a public institution like OU.
So, what do you think is going to happen with Google's Knol? What would you LIKE to see happen with the Knol? Although I am a long-standing fan of wikipedia, I am very curious to see what will happen here!
Although it seems unlikely that it will ever achieve the scope of wikipedia (?), Google's Knol offers one important difference from wikipedia: the articles in Knol are attributed, and changes to those articles are moderated by the author. There can be competing articles on a given topic, each attributed to a specific author (or a group of authors working in collaboration). You can learn more in the Help section of knol.google.com.
Of course, I felt compelled to contribute an article about Aesop along with an article about a typical fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The articles are listed here - each author creates a profile page to establish their credentials, and then the articles you contribute are listed down the side in the right-hand column: Knol Author Page. For academics, it is comparatively easy to establish credentials in this way - and Knol definitely favors those authors who can quickly and efficiently establish their credentials.
I personally find wikipedia to a great resource, but I know there are many teachers and professors who feel differently, and even forbid their students from using wikipedia. Well, here is a great opportunity to provide an online alternative to wikipedia - and my idealistic sense says that everybody has something of value to contribute! I know that what I can contribute here is material related to Aesop and Aesop's fables. I would urge everybody who also has a sense of what they want to contribute to log on and write an article, and to promoting awareness of the Knol throughout the university. The interface is easy to use (you can insert links, images, etc.). By sharing our efforts at this nice new online resource, professors can definitely make a positive contribution to educational resources available to our students online. I hope that Google's Knol will be widely used by university faculty, especially by faculty at a public institution like OU.
So, what do you think is going to happen with Google's Knol? What would you LIKE to see happen with the Knol? Although I am a long-standing fan of wikipedia, I am very curious to see what will happen here!
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