Carolyn and others,
There are many things to think about, when using the Wikipedia with
schoolchildren and with adult learners
1. In some countries Wikipedia is the _only_ encyclopedia written in
the first language. It may be flawed or uneven -- especially in the
first years of its development -- but the prospect of having an
encyclopedia which a schoolchild has at school and home is
revolutionary and exciting.
2. As in developed countries, teachers can explain to students that
not all sources are equally reliable, complete or objective. We want
children and adults to understand how to evaluate all sources of
oral, written and visual information, don't we? Want them to
internalize the evaluative criteria so that whether they are reading
an article in the Wikipedia, or seeing an American, Indian,
Australian, or locally-made movie or TV show, they are looking for
evidence of propaganda, bias, point of view, and for whether there is
a hidden agenda. There are many books and videos in my local public
library which have lower standards than many articles in the
Wikipedia. It's my job as a library user, and it's our jobs as
teachers to help children -- and adult learners -- to distinguish the
wheat from the chaff.
3. The Wikipedia has some interesting features which help the reader
in determining the quality of an article:
a. ) the Discussion tab shows you what the discussion/debate/
controversy has been in developing the article to date. You can see
how many authors there are, how many people have been paying
attention to the page. What a great way to show students that writing
is often controversial, challenged, and sometimes collaborative. they
can also see what the issues are : accuracy, representation of points
of view, evidence, etc.
b) the History tab shows every version of the article. There may be
a few versions, or hundreds. A teacher selecting versions can show
students how accurate, complete, well-written articles don't usually
just appear as an inspiration but are often hard work done in many
drafts over time.
4. There will be some changes in the Wikipedia in the months to
come. Among them will be "stable" articles, those which are
reviewed, are essentially finished (complete, accurate, well
written...) and are then "locked" and labled as "stable." Teachers
who are concerned about research citation can have more confidence in
these, presumably and when other Wikipedia articles are cited can
require evidence that they are sound.
The Wikipedia may be one of the best tools we have to teach critical
reading and research.
David J. Rosen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 10:04:45 -0700
From: "Riddle, Carolyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [DDN] Wikipedia on low-costs PCs must be live!
To: "The Digital Divide Network discussion group"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I have been following the discussion concerning Wikipedia for a while
now. I enjoy browsing through it myself and find the information there
to be mostly accurate. However, I have a problem with using it as a tool
for introducing school children to research. It is not an acceptable
citation for college level work, because it is not actually a verifiable
resource. Once these children enter college they will have to abandon it
and will be taught in library bibliographic instruction classes that it
does not pass muster in terms of higher education website evaluation.
How do you verify the veracity of authors and information from a site
onto which anyone may post information? So I can see the value of
Wikipedia in learning how to evaluate websites, but not in gleaning
authoritative information for research.
Am I way off the mark here? Does anyone know of universities whose
faculty accept Wikipedia citations on student research papers?
Peace,
Carolyn
Carolyn Riddle
Big Bend Community College Library
7662 Chanute Street
Moses Lake, Wa 98837
509-793-2356
509-762-2402 FAX
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