Wikipedia+Friend


 * Introduction **

A wiki is a website that offers a unique twist on how information is shared on the Internet. Rather than one person researching and posting information about a topic to a website, a wiki allows a collaborative effort among a group of users. Using Wiki software, people from anywhere around the world can use their web browser to add, change, edit or remove content from the wiki page. (Tech Terms, 2010) Wikis provide an avenue for collaboration. Wikipedia is a dynamic reference tool that is constantly changing and evolving. (Zawistoski, 2007)

Wikipedia (also known as The Online Encyclopedia) is not only one of the most well known wikis, it’s also one of the most popular websites on the internet (Alexa.com, 2010). Due to its popularity and the idea that anyone with computer access and some free-time can modify the contents, the question has been asked, “Is Wikipedia a valid reference tool?” (Gappa, 2008)

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  Collaboration is the center of our education system. As, we collaborate with the resource teacher, the ESOL teacher, the special education teacher, the art, music and physical education teachers, the school psychologist and many other stakeholders that have a greater interest in our students’ education. We want students to collaborate in small groups on assignments to promote social skills and see others point of views. We are collaborating to complete this assignment because “One of the strongest benefits of the Read/Write Web is the opportunities for collaboration that are now possible” (Dirkin, 2010). Wikipedia is the same type of collaboration instead it's global. This global collaboration allows many different cultures to contribute toward one common goal, “an online community of individuals interested in building a high-quality encyclopedia in a spirit of mutual respect” (What Wikipedia is Not, 2010) so as long as we all keep a "neutral point of view" as stated on Wikipedia’s etiquette page we should achieve that goal.

Wikipedia - A Valuable Classroom Tool
History is based on one person or a small group of people's interpretation of what happened. When we give the pen/keyboard to the world to edit it, history can become a more realistic point of view. Example- growing up our textbooks said Christopher Columbus discovered America. This is a misinterpretation of the truth. With Wikpedia individuals can edit history books to say " Christopher Columbus was a navigator and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere." []

Information from encyclopedias, although accurate, can be limiting. They need to be edited and published. The information from Wikipedia is limitless. People can write articles on events as soon as they happen. While opponents argue that people can write whatever they want, there are people who are verifying what is actually being written. "Because Wikipedia is constantly evolving, its entries often include unconventional sections that might never have been included in a traditional encyclopedia. Such topics-often hyperlinked to outside websites and sources- offer further potential for student investigation and personal engagement." (Crovitz and Smoot, 2009)

If students learn the developing nature behind Wikipedia, they have the chance to move beyond merely looking up information on the web to becoming critical thinkers and analytical readers. "Talking with students about how the site operates is essential in helping them move from passive acceptors of information to practicing analyzers and evaluators." (Crovitz and Smoot, 2009) Are these skills not the same things that educators have strived to develop in their students for years? University professors have even asked students to create Wikipedia pages or expand on stub or even translate pages into different languages. (Zawistoski, 2007)

Additionally, "Wikipedia provides a unique opportunity to get students involved in ongoing conversations about writing for a real audience, meeting genre expectations, establishing credibility, revising for clarity and purpose, and entering public discussions about the nature of truth, accuracy, and neutrality." (Crovitz and Smoot, 2009) While developing writing and revising skills in addition to helping a student distinguish between fact and fiction, Crovitz and Smoot hit on an even larger idea that using Wikipedia allows today's students to keep up with their own genre while they learn. Today's kids are more intuitive to using technology to learn than any generation before them. Online and technology resources, such as Wikipedia, are part of today's student culture. Wikipedia is part of today's culture, especially for our youth. Instead of limiting the use of Wikipedia in our classrooms, we can use it help develop more critical skills in them.

Wikipedia is supported by researched information and well respected sources of information. Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedia are just two of the resources and references that Wikipedia gets information from. These publications are credible and valuable to our history and have not been doubted or questioned. If individually these encyclopedia hold substantial relevance, should not the free online encyclopedia hold similar relevance if not higher because of the multitude of references?

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This video, "What Community Builders can Learn from Wikipedia" is copyright (c) Capture Your Flag and made available under a [|Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported]

If you are still not convinced that Wikipedia is a great resource to use in your classroom and develop your students into critical researchers, start off with a condensed version of Wikipedia that is targeted toward students. It is Wikipedia Selection for Schools. "Articles are organized topically, and separated from the Wikipedia main page to prevent students from accessing irrelevant and inaccurate information." (findingDulcinea, 2010)

Many will say that Wikipedia should not be used for academic purposes, and those individuals have justifiable reasons; however, if used correctly, it can be an invaluable classroom tool. As educators, there is so much which can be done to play into the strengths of this online encyclopedia. Consider the following recommendations from Suite 101: (1) Use it for the links; (2) Use it for the vast ideas and views; (3) Use it all of the background stories; and (4) Use it for the time lines and the chronologies. Using Wikipedia as a starting point for any research project can open up a new world of thoughts, views, and information, and isn’t that priceless in the classroom. Edutopia.com called this phenomenon a “launch pad” for information. While teaching about the benefits of using this instrument, as with any online source, there are, of course a few cautions we should also teach our students. Most importantly, we should be teaching our students to always verify the information, and shouldn’t we be teaching our students to do this anyway. (eHow.com)

Wikipedia has uses other than just for research purposes. Teachers could assign the construction of wiki pages as a collaborative project. In his book, __Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms__, author Will Richardson states that by working together to produce wiki page content, students “learn how to develop and use all sorts of collaborative skills, negotiating with others to agree on correctness, meaning, relevance,and more.” In other words, necessary skills for today’s workplace. Assignments could include AP students creating a study guide for their AP exam, biology students posting results from their lab experiments, or reading groups posting book reports. This page is an example of a collaborative wiki assignment. For other ideas, check out "[|50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom]" at [].

What the Critics Are Saying
Many schools and teachers are tempted to ban Wikipedia usage in classrooms because they struggle to see the full potenial and impact this tool provides. By using Wikipedia, students are able to analzye information as well as interact with the misconceptions, like Christopher Columbus. Wikipedia allows people to engage and participate, thus allowing connections to be made with the text and information.

While people question the validity of Wikipedia, a specific wiki, the benefits of collaboration is obvious. Many teachers have students write in classroom journals, wikis can provide students an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas in a comfortable way, using technology. Students become their own teachers by posting and responding to what others have said or asked. Students are provided with the opportunity to question and debate ideas in order to develop further understanding about a topic. Shy students are now given a way to interact with less anxiety and intimidation.