After I read the article, “Wikipedia: Friend, not Foe,” by Darren Crovitz and W. Scott Smoot, my frustrations and suspicions were more confirmed than before. Wikipedia without a doubt has a vast amount of information on a plethora of topics. However, there obviously are some loopholes in the system allowing for possible inconsistencies and false information. My fear of using it is that students (like adults) will use it as a credible tool, especially since it is high up in the “website rankings,” and most often is the first one to pop up during a search. In my crazy busy life, I probably wouldn’t take that much time to check all the information, therefore could walk away with a small chance of gaining phony information.
I believe a great way to use Wikipedia, as discussed in class and the article, is to use it as a learning lesson for older students who are able to cross reference. I do not think it would be beneficial for students younger than 14, maybe even 16! They simply do not hold the skills to use it correctly or to research to information for validity.
I also can’t help wondering why I should bother wasting time using a site that may not hold accurate information. Does Wikipedia really have information that we could not easily find through a search engine? I think it might be better, at least for now and for me, to use more solid and accurate sources since we are living in such a fast pace society. Maybe then I might have a moment to smell a pretty rose. They simply do not hold the skills to use it correctly and to research to information for validity.
I think the author would be shocked to think his article affected you this way;however, it is good to be skeptical. On the other side, for students who need a good challenge, a lesson on critical reading or research, or even need to evaluate sources - this is a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI think the author would be shocked to think his article affected you this way;however, it is good to be skeptical. On the other side, for students who need a good challenge, a lesson on critical reading or research, or even need to evaluate sources - this is a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your skepticism. As I stated in my blog, the librarian at our school feels the same way. It's funny that the article had the complete opposite effect on me... I found it chock full of teaching opportunities, so much so that I plan to use it for my final project. I feel that by having the kids construct their own wikipedia websites they will learn all the nuances of the content. I loved the idea that students can "wikify" their sources, and the Talk feature allows for lots of critical dialogue. Also by constructing a wikipedia entry, students will glean skills in reading complex texts, skills in writing without bias or judgement, and technology skills through the entire process. I think this way, through total immersion, students can judge for themselves how reliable the source is. As a fellow teacher, I'm always looking for new teaching ideas. How do you teach reliability of sources?
ReplyDeleteI teach the younger grades, so I would not even use Wikipedia unless I had time to check the sources. I feel I can not give a real good answer to your question, except that I tend to stick to the sites that have been around and already known to be accurate. We also have to remember that no matter what is written, it has been written by man! :)
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