Hi All, Regarding Kirby's point about original research on WikiEducator, we encourage that. Soon, we will be launching WikiResearcher.org - a space where researchers can collaborate on research, funding proposals etc. It's a companion project of WikiEducator, via the OER Foundation.
www.oerfoundation.org - See "Projects". - Randy On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 12:15 PM, kirby urner <[email protected]> wrote: > Jan's points below are well taken. > > In the thick of some scientific debate, where the veracity of various > positions is being called into question, it's generally not considered > appropriate to cite an encyclopedia, even Britannica. Encyclopedias are > secondary sources, and when a point needs strong support, one needs to > locate a primary source. > > Encyclopedia citations in the case of blog postings, electronic memos, > correspondence, may helpfully go to Wikipedia when simply defining terms or > mentioning an historical event in passing. > > I'll link to Math World, Urban Dictionary, Encyclopedia of Integer > Sequences in this way. These aren't student papers justifying a debating > position. These are orienting cues or clues, hoping to keep my reader up to > speed enough to not disconnect entirely, because I'm using too many > undefined terms. > > Or if I am taking a controversial position,* then I need to do better than > just cite an encyclopedia* (any encyclopedia). > > However, even when decoding shop talk or jargon, one may encounter entries > with problems e.g. this entry regarding > UML<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Paradigm_for_UML>(unified modeling > language) is currently flagged as "written like an > advertisement" -- another kind of spam editors of an open wiki-based > encyclopedia need to contend with. > > Regarding Wikieducator, there's little to stop someone at the top of their > game, one of the leading authorities in some field, from making some > Wikieducator page a window into her or his thinking. > > Imagine if Linus Pauling <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_pauling> had > chosen Wikieducator as a place to share views, not only about chemistry (for > which he had a Nobel prize), but also about nuclear disarmament (he had a > Nobel Peace Prize as well, took many controversial opinions at the height of > the McCarthy period <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism> and > subsequently). > > Regarding Wikipedia, there's a specific policy that articles should contain > no original > research<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research>. > I don't see WikiEducator has having such a policy, e.g. here's a > Wikieducator > page<http://wikieducator.org/Otago_Polytechnic/Measuring_our_open_education>giving > the results of some specific field study. This is nothing like an > encyclopedia entry in Wikipedia. > > On a different topic, I was wondering how in WikiEducator one might embed > an iFrame such as are used in Google Street > Views<http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2008/12/google-street-view.html>. > I did some searches but so far have not found any examples. > > *Kirby Urner <http://wikieducator.org/User:KirbyUrner>* > > > > On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 5:08 AM, Jan Visser <[email protected]> wrote: > >> "Also, the color scheme and design of the website is exactly the same as >> Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia is known for false information, and cannot be used >> for research papers. I feel that this site is similar to Wikipedia; >> therefore, this site's information cannot be trusted." >> >> >> >> There are two reasons why you can't use Wikipedia as a source for citation >> in arguments where scientific validation is a serious concern: (1) the >> source is not stable. What is there one day may no longer ne there the next >> day. (2) The authorship is anonymous and articles have not been peer >> reviewed. So, whatever claims appear in the citation can't be traced back to >> a particular individual or institutional environment with a recognizable >> history of validly contributing to scientific knowledge building. >> >> >> >> It doesn't mean, though, that what you read in the Wikipedia is worthless >> or that students should be discouraged from using it in their explorations. >> Quite to the contrary, in my view. In many areas, Wikipedia is an excellent >> resource. Students can often use it as a good starting point for their >> research because it's free, but they will have to move beyond it to check >> what they read against sources that meet the criteria for citation mentioned >> above. Many good entries in the Wikipedia are linked to or cite such >> quotable sources, which should make it easy for students to do such further >> research. >> >> >> >> As WikiEducator's mission is in the first place to provide curriculum >> materials, it's unlikely that it will want to become a quotable resource, >> for the same reason that printed curriculum materials developed for schools >> are unlikely to end up among the referenced works cited in scientific >> papers, unless the paper is in the area of the sciences of learning. >> >> >> >> The student is wrong if s/he thinks that you cannot trust the information >> in Wikipedia simply because it is Wikipedia and that, if it is in one of >> those other sources, it can be automatically trusted. Anything written will >> always have to be subject to the critical scrutiny of those who care to >> read. S/he is right in expressing distrust in a source that has earlier been >> found to be weak in validity control. >> >> >> >> In my view, the student's remark points once again to the important >> opportunity for WikiEducator to develop materials and processes that lead >> students to becoming critically constructive users and producers of the >> growing wealth of knowledge available in a distributed fashion via different >> channels, one of them being the Internet. >> >> >> >> Jan >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Jan Visser, Ph.D. >> >> President & Sr. Researcher, Learning Development Institute >> >> E-mail: [email protected] >> >> Check out: http://www.learndev.org and http://www.facebook.com/learndev >> >> Blog: http://jvisser-ldi.blogspot.com/ >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "WikiEducator" group. >> To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org >> To visit the discussion forum: >> http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > -- Open Education is a sustainable and renewable resource. ________________ Randy Fisher, MA, OMD Senior Consultant, Organization Development, Intersol Group, Canada Senior Consultant, Organization & Business Development International Centre for Open Education / OER Foundation, New Zealand Elected Member, WikiEducator Community Council, www.wikieducator.org +1 613.230.6424 x144 (EST) Skype: wikirandy Twitter: wikirandy * Stakeholder Engagement, Change / Transition Management & Performance * Organization Design & Development * Sustainable Project Implementation & Community-Building * E-Learning, Online Collaboration & Communities of Practice * Coaching & Facilitation * My Bio: http://www.communitybuildingexpert.com
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