Re: [LM_NET] Should students use Wikipedia as a source?

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>]

I must agree with the academic librarian who discourages the use of
Wikipedia as a source for information IF...you are relying on
accurate, reliable, unbiased information.  While Wikipedia does
provide instant information on a wealth of topics not generally found
in an encyclopedia, it cannot be the sole source for all
information---and definitely not something you'd want to showcase for
a research assignment for a group of fifth graders.

I would highly suggest that Wikipedia be used as "general information"
source to locate information IF nothing else is available within the
library to provide that information.  If other sources are available,
then they should be used first.  Wikipedia should be used as a
'general idea source' or something to get an idea of what the topic
might be before formal research begins, but I certainly wouldn't use
it as a primary / secondary source if other, more reliable resources
are available.

We must continue to model the best research behaviors, and while we
are in an information environment that is constantly changing, we must
also remember that most of our students do not have the ability to
evaluate information as we do---elementary and middle school students
certainly don't have those skills yet.  If we model the use of the
Internet as our first source for information, our students will
follow.  If we show the use of Wikipedia as a reliable source for a
webquest, students will use it later for other assignments.
Re-training our students in the appropriate use of quality materials
is what we need to do in order to move them forward toward academic
research---the type of instruction / research that this librarian
wants to see from those students entering college.

That does not mean discarding every element that evolves in our
information-saturated environment, but rather, showing students the
BEST resources to use first (print, online databases, library
resources, primary sources) and then showing them how bad information
is easily located online by anyone with an Internet account.  That
takes time and experience with a librarian who is consistently
teaching students how to use information in various formats.

Online resources are wonderful, but web-based information must be
evaluated throughly and shared sparingly with younger students,
otherwise, they may not realize that your hours of research to
determine a site's validity wasn't just haphazardly added to the
assignment because it was easily accessible online.  That's part of
information literacy and that's what we need to continue to teach our
students.

Just a thought...

~Shonda


On 5/30/07, Ann Ewbank <Ann.Ewbank@asu.edu> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> A few days ago I received the following communication from an
> academic librarian regarding a Webquest I created. I asked her if I
> could share her thoughts with LM_NET, as I thought she posed
> interesting questions about the use of Wkipedia and other open-source
> sites, and she consented.
>
> Should students use Wikipedia? If so, in what contexts? The webquest
> can be found here: http://members.cox.net/adutton1/waffle.html
>
> "Today, I was assisting my fifth grade child as she worked on your
> Everything on a Waffle WebQuest, which was assigned by her language
> arts teacher.  I was surprised to see that the first two links were
> to articles from Wikipedia.  Since this is an open source web site,
> the information is not considered reliable.  As professionals who
> encourage good academic practice, I encourage you to consider
> revising your WebQuest. The use of a source such as this, especially
> since this is used to teach children, is highly questionable.
>        As I work with college students each day I tell them not to use
> Wikipedia in their research assignments.  Wikipedia itself provides a
> disclaimer about its use for scholarly purposes.  When my child had
> been assigned Wikipedia earlier in the school year, I sent a note
> warning the teacher about the perils of open source web information.
> While the WWW provides a wealth of valuable information, it must be
> used with critical assessment of the content.  It is our
> responsibility as educators to guide our students appropriately."
>
> Ann
>
> Ann Dutton Ewbank, Ph.D.
> President, Arizona Library Association
> Education Liaison Librarian
> Fletcher Library
> Arizona State University at the West campus
> P.O. Box 37100
> Phoenix, Arizona 85069-7100
> 602.543.8527
> Fax 602.543.6500
>
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-- 
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
Library Media / Technology Specialist
Digital Bookends wiki / blog:
http://digitalbookends.pbwiki.com
http://shonda.edublogs.org/
sbrisco@gmail.com

"Digital Resources" columnist
School Library Journal

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