Back in the dark ages you went to the library and went straight for the encyclopedia Brittanica. Why? Because you trusted that big, dusty book. You had confidence that any fact that was printed was accurate. It takes a leap of faith to completely trust Wikipedia. That said, the fact that it is updated in real time is amazing. We can look up facts as they happen. But what happens when someone get something wrong? However the fact is that when we want to look something up quick, we will wiki.
We are 21st century teachers. In the classroom we are tapping into our students strength when we use a wiki. They are very comfortable with technology. Through the wiki they can take part in cultural exchanges like seeing the statue of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza in Madrid. They can also engage in discussion with each other through edits, and subpages. All students can add information onto the page. Of course they are on the honor system. Remember what one student posts, another can take away.
That is so true! How much research did I do in high school using the encyclopedia!? And Wikipedia is just that- with a catch. In the last few years, I have been impressed with how accurate Wikipedia has become. I am toying with the idea of creating lessons that teach exactly how to use Wikipedia and what they should use it for (and what NOT to use it for). :)
ReplyDeleteOMG...encyclopedias! I forgot about those. I am totally a Wikipedia, instant information user. And, ironically, I'm totally against using Wikipedia in the classroom. I cite it as an anti-source and warn my students against it, yet I hypocritically use it for lesson plan research. I definitely need to reassess my stance.
ReplyDeleteI love Shannon's idea about teaching a lesson where Wikipedia can be used correctly and effectively. What a great idea! Also, I love that you are linking in your posts. You're already doing the advance blogger stuff Richardson mentioned in Ch. 3!