Free collaborative wikis, such as Wikipedia are now widely used by learners as a reference source.

In 2007 a number of UK veterinary schools began to explore the possibility of creating a common veterinary wiki. WikiVet was born out of the vision of developing a peer reviewed, comprehensive curriculum wiki to enhance the teaching of veterinary medicine.

The intention has been to...

  • create a high quality resource, which can be used as a reliable reference work by students anywhere in the world.

The initiative currently involves staff and students at four UK veterinary schools with support from...

  • the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and
  • Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). 


The collaborative approach has draw upon a wealth of skills, experience and enthusiasm. The first section of the WikiVet to be developed was called WikiPath which has been followed by...

  • WikiAnatomy,
  • WikiBugs,
  • WikiDrugs,
  • WikiNormals and
  • WikiPublic Health.

New sections currently in development include...

  • WikiClinical, a clinical based section, and
  • WikiWild, a section on wild animals and conservation.
In addition to the text content, WikiVet also has thousands of images and videos to further enhance the value of the site.

I'm informed, via the Association for Learning Technology Newsletter, that they have now started work on a new section called WikiTest, a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust funded initiative to provide students with a quality assured, self directed learning and assessment resource within the site.

Take a closer look at http://w01.rvcwiki.wf.ulcc.ac.uk/index.php/Main_Page.