Wikipedia is in the air
This month, there were two articles about using Wikipedia in classrooms in two different teacher-oriented publications.
The first was in NEA Today. This one is a general article about Wikipedia, highlighting some of the key issues between the public/democratic goals of Wikipedia (and other wiki projects) against concerns about its reliability and authenticity. Here’s a quote from this article:
But with wiki technology, students can go beyond simply reading sites to helping write them as well, fulfilling the Web’s promise of becoming a fully interactive medium. According to Frey, whether or not Wikipedia is a reliable source is beside the point. Its value, he says, is in its collaborative nature. “It’s an organic product, it’s an interactive product, and it’s a community product,” he says. “You can’t compare it to traditional resources. It encourages us to accept that in today’s world, anyone can be a published author.”
The second was in American Teacher. This one took a point/counterpoint format with an educator taking pro and con views of using Wikipedia with students. Here’s a brief quote from each:
… And teaching students the patience to delve into credible resources is the task and responsibility of the educator. We, as educators, cannot condone lazy techniques or unreliable research tools.
Unlike a more static writing process in which publication marks the end of revisions and the end of the process, wiki writing is instantly published while undergoing infinite revisions. The wiki therefore brings literacy and accountability to a whole new level. Students are not simply skimming for content, they are constantly evaluating from an editor’s point of view in order to improve what they are reading/publishing.
Lastly, an anecdote from my middle school. The technology teacher had been doing a lesson on Wikipedia and how it works and how to assess accuracy in an on line source. During the class, a student went in and edited two entries by deleting what was there and adding nonsense. Since Wikipedia tracks vandalism, it noted the school’s IP address and has prevented anyone from editing any entry for a chunk of time (a week, I think).While I disapprove of the student’s behavior (as did his teacher), I think it serves to highlight the points of these articles as well as what we face as educators bringing this part of the web into our classrooms.
Blogged with Flock
