In most university subjects Wikipedia is not considered as an appropriate resource for academic purposes. Thus, I was surprised to see how predominantly it is featured in this course (FAHE11001) where it is promoted as an elearning tool. Most academics concern with Wikipedia is associated with the fact that it is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can add to or edit, meaning Wikipedia’s entries don’t undergo a verified expert review and can be flawed in the finer details or otherwise completely fabricated (1).
However, to counter substandard and vandalistic edits, Wikipedia has a variety of systems to catch and control this type of behaviour. These include peer reviews and good article assessment. In addition to this, specific types of articles or fields often have their own specialised and comprehensive projects, assessment processes (such as biographical article assessment), and expert reviewers within specific subjects (2). To give you an idea of how successful these systems are in monitoring the quality of user contributions, I have never seen a wikipedia post that was noticeably fraudulent in its facts, having regularly used the site since grade 8 in high school. I am now 20.
Wikipedia has descriptions and detailed analysis' on just about every field, subject, and/or topic of information in existence. As a resource, wikipedia is a reference point that teachers can use to achieve additional insight into topics they might be covering in their classes. It may assist them in developing more interesting and fact-driven lectures. The material could also be used as a base to construct student handouts. Moreover, because wikipedia is easily accessible through the internet, teachers may choose to direct students to the site to investigate a topic and report on their findings as part of their homework assignment. Thus, as an elearning tool, wikipedia presents itself as an online knowledge base that students and teachers can use to construct a reasonable understanding on a wide variety of subject matter.
References
1) http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutWikip/161666
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
REFLECTIONS
What are your opinions on wikipedia as a reliable resource?
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Hi Lyneale,
ReplyDeleteGood question. Back when the internet was in its infancy and wikipedia was fairly new it was notorious for politically motivated groups to come along and change it on a regular basis to suit their own views. Now though they have excellent quality control in place and wikipedia is fast becoming the most accurate and up to date source of information in my opinion.
Regards,
Sharon
Hi Sharon
ReplyDeleteIts great to hear your thoughts. I too think wikipedia has developed great quality control mechanisms for fighting against the sort of vandalistic behaviour you mention. The only problem I can see for teachers with students' use of wikipedia is in the marking process. Because information on the site is constantly being updated, reviewing students' references may present some difficulties and may be hard to verify.
lyneale
Hi Sharon and Lyneale,
ReplyDeleteI have also had the experience that in my other classes we were encouraged not to use Wikipedia in any of our assignments. Although it was definetely considered a great tool to use as a starting point to get an overall picture or some leads. I'm not studying teaching so I can only guess that it must be time consuming these days to keep up with the latest information & technology out there.
Michele
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI always look to use Wikipedia as an assessment, by having students edit it through group work. If I were to use such an activity, students would be required to work in teams, where they would be assessed on communication, planning, and management of team efforts. The modern workplace, and universal to all jobs, demands that people possess these skills, however schools have had a trend towards assessing students as indivuduals.
Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B (1999, April), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, Maryland, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm