It turns out that Wikipedia can be pretty darn addicting. When we went through the basic searches it became clear that there is so much more to experience. So I have to say, I am truly excited for the educational opportunities that sites such as Wikipedia can offer my students, but also for the opportunities that it can provide for me. I feel like I am justified in using Wikipedia myself to further my knowledge. I discovered a Wiki site called Wikiversity that can help serve me as an educator, providing lesson plans and quizzes. While some of these are not very developed, and others are very difficult, they can provide the framework for some interesting lesson plans that are conveniently linked to what students are looking at. If they are using Wikipedia, I NEED TO BE SURE THAT THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT. I realized that my go to beginning search was always Wikipedia and the same will be true of my students. By going through the sites, I can be certain that they are getting website that will be of interest of them. More importantly, I might be able to present new information, relaying it in different ways, and therefore renewing student attentiveness. I can even preface saying "you won't learn this on Wikipedia, and it will be important for... (given social circumstance)."
I know that I had some college professors that emphasized the power of Wikipedia as an initial source, but it was through instruction that I learned why research can be so much more fun that simply going to Wikipedia. If I can't help my students fall in love with learning, then I am partially failing in my teaching goals. And if I can't use what they are used to, I certainly will never reach them.
I'm excited for the future of Wikiversity as a method of continued learning. I recommend you check out the other aspects such as Wiki- quotes, data, and other variations.
No comments:
Post a Comment