WikiVet English:About
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Introduction
WikiVet is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools with support from Higher Education Academy and JISC funding. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base which covers the entire veterinary curriculum. This will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, nurses and graduates anywhere in the world.
History
The WikiVet project started work in April 2007 and initially involved academics from Cambridge, Edinburgh and the Royal Veterinary College. The first stage involved the creation of WikiPath covering the veterinary undergraduate curriculum. This has subsequently been extended to include WikiAnatomy and Physiology, WikiBlood, WikiBugs, WikiVPH and WikiClinical.
In 2008 the project was joined by the Nottingham Veterinary School. Activity on the site expanded to cover most of the curriculum including new section on Wiki Normals and Wiki Drugs. In January 2009 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust provided funding to cover the development of an interactive question bank called Wiki Test.
Site Development
WikiVet has been created in a similar way to its big brother Wikipedia. However there are three distinct differences between the two systems. First, all the content relates specifically to the veterinary curriculum. Second, all the content has been authored by vets and students and is peer reviewed by subject specialists at one of the participating veterinary schools. Finally, access to the site is restricted to the veterinary community in order to ensure that the general public are not able to view or edit the content.
A unique feature of WikiVet has been the level of cooperation not only between academics at different schools but also involving the students. Over 40 student authors have worked together writing most of the content and this has been reviewed by recent graduates. The students have enjoyed this work and claim that they have learnt a lot more about the subject matter as a result. Their inspiration has also resulted in a number of significant improvements to the site such as interactive content maps, flash cards and clinical cases.
More Information
- An update on recent developments can be found on the Wiki News pages
- You can find out more about the community of practice which has been working on the wiki from the link below: Wiki Vet Community
- The site has been developed by over 40 students and staff from 4 different vet schools. You can find their home pages here - Acknowledgements
- Educational research behind the WikiVet approach Theories
- Please add your contact details and location to our [WikiMap]of users around the world.
Contact Us
- We currently have students and academics from most of the UK veterinary schools working on different aspects of the wiki. If you would like to get involved too, please email WikiMaster or write to WikiVet, c/o Electronic Media Unit, The Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU, United Kingdom.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License