The paper describes an exploratory case study, carried out in an environment of critical action-research, at a urban K12 School in Portugal, which incorporates the use of Wikipedia in the 12th grade Portuguese curriculum (Writing Workshop, 73 students, 3 classes).

The question was: Does the activity of writing articles for Wikipedia, by students changes the way these students a) relate to knowledge (awareness of it’s constructed, dynamic nature and b) use the information available on the Internet?

Through questionnaires, observation and document analysis, we found many positive outcomes, e.g. skills relating to Wikipedia system; critical awareness of the information available; awareness that a text is an unfinished product and that can be collective; awareness of ethical and legal requirements.

The online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is a source of knowledge and a space of possibility for knowledge production, since it is edited anonymously and in a self-regulated way. Also, it provides a context for work within the framework of multiliteracies skills. According to Szesnat (2006), research on the educational use of Wikipedia can be divided into two categories: use of Wikipedia as a database of knowledge and use of Wikipedia as a tool for teaching. We found a third category in the work of Jandric (2010) whose approach analyses Wikipedia from the point of view of the philosophy that underlies it (anarchism).

Analysis of Wikipedia praxis in the light of basic concepts of anarchist philosophy of

education shows the following:

- Engagement in Wikipedia is based on essentially anarchist beliefs about human nature.

- Engagement in Wikipedia is very close to anarchist concept of work.

- Wikipedia creates a virtual anarchist society (Jandric, p.65).

And the author concludes (p. 66): “No-one has ever created a fully egalitarian education system of neraly similar size and stability as Wikipedia.” It seems that we are close of the idea  formulated by Ivan Illich (1971) when he imagined the possible "knowledge networks"…

So this study is based on two integrated dimensions: epistemological and philosophical; and the pragmatic pretext for teaching and learning in a different way. Thus, the study explores the relationship of students with knowledge in the active situation of writing for Wikipedia, trying to raise awareness of the socially constructed nature of knowledge either the official/social or individual one (Oliveira et al, 2013).

These particular paper describes a pioneering teaching experience undertaken at a urban/rural Secondary School in the north of Portugal, which aimed to incorporate the use of Wikipedia in the 12th grade Portuguese curriculum.

The object of study sets up the problem of student’s management of information available on the Internet. Specifically, it focuses on the writing of articles, by students, for Wikipedia. We try to answer the following question: — The activity of writing articles for Wikipedia, by students (conducted, monitored and checked by the teacher), changes the way these students a) relate to knowledge (awareness of it’s produced nature produced, constructed, dynamic) and b) use the information available on the Internet?

The objectives are:

1) to provide students with knowledge and skills related to the functioning of Wikipedia (organizing and editing) that enable them to critically read articles and participate in their writing;

2) to promote oriented reading and writing (synthesis and argumentation);

3) to promote a critical and reflective look over facts and events;

4) to encourage students to use Wikipedia as a starting point for thematic research, applying the required validation filters;

5) to contribute to citizenship development through the communication possibilities offered by the Internet for the transmission and sharing of ideas.

Oliveira, L. R.; Martins, L.; Capitão, M.; Costa, M.; Barbosa, H.; Cardoso, E. & Santos, B. (2013). Data is a Built Thing: (de)constructing the curriculum through Wikipedia writing. Procedings of EduLearn 2013, Barcelona. Pp. 120-125. Szesnat, H. (2006). Who knows? Wikipedia, Teaching and Research. SBL Forum. Disponível em http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=603. Acedido 27 de agosto de 2013). Jandric, P. (2010). Wikipedia and education: anarchist perspectives and virtual practices. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, vol.8. no.2. Pp. 48-73. Illich, I. (1971) Une société sans école. 4ième Edition. Paris: Seuil.