Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Is Wikipedia a Friend or Foe?

 I have alway thought of Wikipedia as one of those very smart friends that seem to know the answer to just about anything and everything but may not be getting all their facts straight. Can you really believe everything they say?
After I participated in our class discussion and did my own investigation of what Wikipedia has to offer, I am happy to say I am a friend of Wikipedia. I realized that I am the one who did not have all their facts straight. Wikipedia has a team of editors and volunteers who are constantly cross referencing and editting the contributors work.  Wikipedia checks to see if the information is accurate and is written within  their guidelines and style of writing. Unlike other resources, Wikipedia is updated instantiously and has the most current news and events. 

Teachers need to  fully understand the nuts and bolts of Wikipedia and their strict requirements to contribute to the collaborative encyclopedia.  Once teachers have a clear understanding of Wikipedia and what Wikipedia has to offer, they can better explain Wikipedia to their students and how to use it.  No matter what, students are always going to find Wikipedia as one of the first sites on their search results. Teachers need to inform and teach students about Wikipedia and how they can use it as a research tool.  Students can refer to the citations and sites to find other reliable sources.  Teachers of middle school and high school can use Wikipedia as a stepping stone for critical thinking of what is a reliable and is not reliable and how to evaluate sites.  Teachers can also use Wikipedia to teach students about the editing process using many of Wikipedia's editorial tutorials and reference guides. Students can produce their own written contribution about their school or community according to the Wikipedia writing criteria.  I am looking forward to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool and inform my students what Wikipedia is and how it can be useful to them.
If you are foe of Wikipedia or you are on the fence, here is a helpful website I found on my investigation of ways to incorporate Wikipedia into the classroom. 
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Education/In-The-Classroom/Wikipedia-In-The-Classroom.pg_0.html

5 comments:

  1. Robin,
    Nice job with the lay out of your blog. I was just able to concentrate on writing my blog. Yours is so pleasant to look at. As for the article review, I think I have you beat with the knowledge of Wikipedia, or I should say lack of. I have never even been on the website, and have only heard of negative applications for it. I started out being a little skeptical myself, however, as I read on, was surprised to actually discover all that Wikipedia has to offer and if used correctly, can be a learning tool as well. I think teachers are afraid of Wikipedia because they themselves don't necessarily feel comfortable with the critical thinking piece, and aren't sure of how to handle it with their students. During our conversation yesterday, Donna mentioned that Wikipedia is also a tool for possibly introducing technical writing to the students, and possibly having them add to an article. For older students, I think this would be a great learning experience.

    Why do you think teachers are so afraid of using Wikipedia? or How can we inform others who are skeptical to adopt the concept?

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  2. Robin,
    Nice job with the lay out of your blog. I was just able to concentrate on writing my blog. Yours is so pleasant to look at. As for the article review, I think I have you beat with the knowledge of Wikipedia, or I should say lack of. I have never even been on the website, and have only heard of negative applications for it. I started out being a little skeptical myself, however, as I read on, was surprised to actually discover all that Wikipedia has to offer and if used correctly, can be a learning tool as well. I think teachers are afraid of Wikipedia because they themselves don't necessarily feel comfortable with the critical thinking piece, and aren't sure of how to handle it with their students. During our conversation yesterday, Donna mentioned that Wikipedia is also a tool for possibly introducing technical writing to the students, and possibly having them add to an article. For older students, I think this would be a great learning experience.

    Why do you think teachers are so afraid of using Wikipedia? or How can we inform others who are skeptical to adopt the concept?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I went to your suggested reading and found it very helpful. Thank you for making it available to us.

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    Replies
    1. You are very welcome! Happy to have helped!

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  4. Thanks Paula for your insightful post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading yours!
    I believe teachers have a fear of the unknown. They are not sure who is contributing to the site and if the site has been reviewed by an editor. Students may stumble on a site that has been vandalized and not yet corrected. Like I said yesterday in our discussion, research time is limited and teachers may choose to ban Wikipedia all together and guide their students to a more reputable and reliable source.

    I feel that we can only spread the "gospel" of Wikipedia and the many ways it can be a great learning experience for your students. Teachers will do what they know and feel comfortable with. I feel all students should be explicitly taught how to evaluate online sources and Wikipedia is the top search result. The tech teacher/ librarian should teach students the Wikipedia ways!

    ReplyDelete