Stan Shebs wrote:
As students
begin their online research, they could view the
prevalence of Wikipedia references in Google as proof of the accuracy
and reliability of the source. Given the search exposure and sheer
volume of data available on the site, they might fall into the trap of
relying on a single source for their education.
What we *really* want is for people to pass through WP on the way to our
sources and references and external links, and use those for citations
instead of WP. I think we say that somewhere, but what else can we do to
drive home the point? I've added some really topnotch books as
references for articles, and yet when I go back to the library, those
books are still sitting on the shelves, when they should be checked out
nonstop.
As the messengers we can very well say, "Don't shoot the messenger."
Anyone whose not a virgin newbie to Wikipedia is aware of the
limitations that you state. I generally agree with those teachers who
reject Wikipedia as the sole source on which students base their
articles, but it would be inappropriate to downgrade an essay simply
because it uses Wikipedia as one source amoung others.
The real failing is with those educational establishments who have
neglected to give students, from a very early stage, the tools with
which to critically evaluate the information that they receive. Instead
of viewing the internet as a source of mischief to be turned off, it is
important that teachers and parents alike recognize it as a primary
source of information for students. The paradox that educators find
themselves in is that the student who makes judgements about the
information he receives online is also likely to use the same criteria
for making similar judgements about information provided by the educators.
Ec