Sam Korn wrote:
As ever, I'm a little more optimistic than you, Scott. I think there
is a potential use for members of the Wikipedia community to go into
schools and explain how Wikipedia should be used because
1. children /will/ encounter Wikipedia;
2. they need to know how it can be helpful and how it can be harmful; and
3. teachers are unlikely to be able to impart this knowledge.
You want to train wikipedians in a primary
school? Turn off the PCs and
give them grammar and dictation.
And Latin.
Dum spiro, spero
However, Children will encounter many things that are helpful and
harmful: MacDonalds, Disney, Microsoft, Celebrity Big Brother, and the
blessed Royal Bank of Scotland.
Whilst the odd guest speaker from such organisations appearing for an
hour on a dull Friday at the end of term no doubt has its merits, I
wouldn't start developing your agenda for "Wikipedia Classes" anytime
soon. Or maybe youtube should be there too.
If given a good general education, kids will, for the most, figure such
stuff out for themselves. And in any case, the law of technological
evolution says by the time primary kids hit the workplace, Wikipedia may
well be as relevant as my intimate knowledge of the ZX Spectrum.
Scott