WikipediWHO

Every time I start a new class and the syllabus is being reviewed the professor ALWAYS says, "As you write your research paper make sure to cite your research you find on Wikipedia," or "I highly recommend you look up Wikipedia when doing your research."  AND THEN I WAKE UP.  That never happens!  WikipediWHO?  Are we talking about the same website?


I loved learning more about Wikipedia today.  Going through the website and learning how to tell if a source was reliable and how pages are graded was very helpful.  What stood out to me the most was the abundance of references.  If I'm not able to use Wikipedia as a source, at least I can start there and then use it as a resource to find other information. Maybe if I'm feeling rebellious, I can cite well reviewed and highly graded Wikipedia sites on a research paper and then when I get questioned I can defend it's credibility.  Wikipedia has received a bad reputation for containing unreliable information.  I appreciated learning more about it and how to weed through all the information.  I also value the idea of having my students research and edit Wikipedia pages.  I think providing opportunities for students to apply the knowledge they're learning to real life applications is very beneficial.  It gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment.