Chapter 4:
Wikipedia is the greatest, quick research tool to man! I must admit anytime I research a topic I type it into Google and look for the Wikipedia link. This may sound stupid, but until this class I did not know that Wikipedia was created by regular individuals and constantly updated by other random people. I always assumed that since Wikipedia was a .org website, then it could be used a reliable resource. Since I’ve learned that anyone can edit Wikipedia, I have been skeptical of the information that I gather from the website. Because I know several professors will not allow you to cite Wikipedia as a source because of accuracy, I was actually shocked to see that 4 out of 5 experts say Wikipedia entries are accurate, informative, and a great resource. Honestly, I’ve never checked Wikipedia to see if the information given was correct or not. Along with the vast majority of individuals, I believe Wikipedia is the new “IT” for quick information. In my classroom I will definitely allow students to use Wikipedia in their research, as long as they find other documentation that supports it.
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I was also surprised to see the statistics about wikipedia in this chapter. I think you are smart to have your students use the site and then verify what they found. This will give them practice seeking information from multiple sources which is always the best way to get an unbiased view of things.
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