Academics often look askance at Wikipedia, because they question the reliability of a source that can be edited by anyone. Indeed, there are stories of false information posted on the site (sometimes with amusing results). Yet if we look back on a paper-and-bound encyclopedia from say, fifty years ago, we can see how the "real" information can often age and also be proven questionable.
Still, if students use Wikipedia, they often don't know that it is a wiki and that it's content is open for editing by anyone. It's a good idea to discuss with them the ramifications of the format.
Or you could even include those ramifications within the class. Next semester, I'm considering using Wikipedia as part of my Writing 1 students' research process. Beginning by having them print out the existing entry on their project and ending with them contributing to that entry.
This article, "Students marked on writing in Wikipedia" by Donald MacLeond, tells the story of one instructor who did just that.
1 comment:
I must confess that I have never actually looked at a Wikipedia entry (though I guess I should now). My gut feeling as a former English teacher has been that students must learn to use traditional reference materials. In considering the applications mentioned in MacLeond's article as well Courtney's idea for her class, I can see that there might indeed be some value to Wikipedia in certain settings.
I still wonder about the applicability for younger students???
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