Wikipedia: Friend or Foe?

I was very interested in the article, Wikipedia: Friend or Foe, by Thomas Hammond and David Farhie in the March/April 2009 edition of Learning & Technology. The article discussed both sides of whether it is appropriate for students to use Wikipedia as a source for research. Wikipedia is quite the controversy in schools and libraries. Primarily because it is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit and add content to. It could reflect biases or promote specific agendas. Many feel it is extremely unreliable and should never be used as a valid source of information.

While I do understand the limitations of Wikipedia, I believe it does have its place on the internet. Wikipedia is one of the most popular resources on the internet that is used by millions as a quick way to explore a topic. Instead of stopping students from using this site, we as teachers should take advantage of the situations and use Wikipedia as a teaching tool. Hammond stated, “If your curriculum in an opening into critical thinking and knowledge construction, teachers must used flawed sources such as Wikipedia, alongside more authoritative text.” We should be teaching students how to use Wikipedia effectively and understand both the weaknesses and strengths of this site.

Often students do not know the difference between accurate and credible information and content that is not. We need to teach students how to determine the difference especially now that students are getting more and more information on the internet. A couple of things we can do as teachers is allow students to use Wikipedia as a reference as long as they use two or more non-Wikipedia sources to support their reference. We can have students figure out the biases implied in a Wikipedia entry and have them rewrite the entry to show a different viewpoint. Students can even edit a Wikipedia entry to fully understand the collaborative community of this website.

What we need to teach our students about Wikipedia is that it is a good start in the research process but it is not a one-stop-shop for reliable knowledge and credible information. Students need to understand that any information they find on the internet may be influenced by the writer’s point of view and may not always be truthful or accurate.