[CALIBK12] Wikipedia

[Janet Hasbrouck]

Thanks, Darla, for sharing your lesson, and thanks to Judy for the reference to the article on MSNBC. That article could be the basis of a great discussuion about the things one would particularly want to be careful of when using Wikipedia. It's all about the lessons we are trying to get students to learn about evaluating sources. I guess it was not only Senator Kennedy, but Senator Byrd who supposedly passed away at the luncheon. I agree that any source can have inaccuracies, but some of these are so spectacular and we all get to see them instantly. Great discussion, everyone.
 
Janet HasBrouck, Librarian
Arcadia High School

>>> "Magana. Darla" <Darla.Magana at smes.org> 1/28/2009 3:47 PM >>>

Hi all,For years I have stood in front of classes and talked about the pros and cons of Wikipedia.  I saw no evidence that students even were listening.  L  Last year, my school adopted an online classroom software program (called ANGEL, but just like Blackboard) and I moved to a more constructivist approach in teaching wikipedia.  As part of a larger research unit , students (in this instance 7th grade) via an online discussion board read and discuss the pros and cons of Wikipedia for homework. It has worked well for me, PLUS I use the assignment to review database searching and summarizing (a skill that they are hitting hard in their English classes at the same time they are doing this assignment).  Below, I've pasted the questions and some of their responses to question #3 (which is the "critical thinking" component).    More importantly, last year, no students cited Wikipedia as a source (although some did refer to it).  Of course they could be bluffing, but the upfront evidence suggests that they are making wise choices.  Just thought I'd share something that has "worked" for me.  Darla MaganaSt. Margaret's Episcopal SchoolWikipedia or Wikedpedia Discussion Board Prompts:#1.  Follow this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia) and read at least the first paragraph.  Then add a NEW Post in which you explain what wikipedia is in your own words. #2.  Using the PROQUEST database find the article entitled "A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia as a Research Source by Noam Cohen (New York Times, Feb 21 2007).  Read the article and then add a NEW Post in which you summarize the article. #2.  Using the PROQUEST database find the article entitled "Internet encyclopaedias go head to head" by Jim Giles (Nature Magazine, Dec 15, 2005) Read the article and then add a NEW Post in which you summarize the article. #3.  Based on your prior knowledge and the readings from Question #1 and #2, do you think it is a wise decision to use Wikipedia when you are doing research for school assignments OR when you are doing research for personal interest.  EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER. Student Responses:
"I think Wikipedia is a good source most of the time so it is fine to find information there as long as one finds the same information in another reliable source to back it up. It is a good starting point but it is not wise to use it as an only source."
"I think that Wikipedia is a very unreliable source because it can be edited by anyone, anywhere and should be used with caution.  I would not use it to do my research on a project, however, it can be a great starting point.  If you used Wikipedia as a starting point, you could then research the information found on Wikipedia to see if it is reliable.  On the other hand, if you were researching out of personal interest, like Lola said, credible information (depending on the topic) is usually not as crucial.  In the end, it is a good idea to always check to make sure that your information is reliable, no matter what you are researching about."
"I don't think using wikipedia is good for research, because you don't know if you're using false information.  All the people in the world that have a computer can change this websites information, which is un-reliable, and not good to use in a project.  As Kelly said, it's fine for a starting point, but in the long run you should just go to a reliable source at first, just so you are sure the information is factual"
"I think it is a terrible idea to use Wikipedia because anyone can mess up posts. They can just change the post to a complete fack piece of info. Even though most of the info is correct, some of it can throw you off  and half the time you're not sure it's correct because you could be learning new info."


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