Using Google or Wikipedia for research has been something I have
always stayed away from, not knowing the credibility of sources or information available.
Learning that there are a number of ways I can check the information has helped
relieve some of the fear of using these sites. I had no idea how google information
worked, what sites came up first and why. I also had never realized the
possibilities of looking at news from other countries. There is so much information
in the world that we as students who grew up in textbooks are not even aware
of. I would love to have country codes available for my students and have
opportunities for research to be done by looking at information from around the
world. It would be excellent to compare information from around the world and
discuss differences.
I have a completely different mindset on Wikipedia now. I have
been told in the past not to trust information from Wikipedia, so I would use
it only for casual browsing and never for “graded” research. Now knowing how Wikipedia
is run and the details behind the work that goes into each piece of information
it seems like such a mistake to not use it. I think Wikipedia would be an
excellent tool for my future English class, assigning my students to find a
stub or even a topic not yet on Wikipedia and writing information to add. I think
having the experience of contributing to something that is globally used and
seeing that their writing can be used in the real world (not just class essays)
is a great way to encourage students to continue writing.
I'm right there with you, Jewel. As English folk, we are used to researching and writing papers. Thinking back to our times at Whitworth, I cannot recall a single professor that said it was permissible to use Wikipedia as a reliable source. However, we are going to secondary schools so Wikipedia it is!
ReplyDeleteWith the country/state codes, I am really excited to utilize that feature. When introducing a unit or needing to find some background knowledge to set up the unit (or to research for a reflective paper) students can search by country to find differing perspectives. When reading The Diary of Anne Frank, students can search google for sources from Europe. After students read Uncle Tom's Cabin, students can read differing perspectives of slavery from Northern and Southern states. So many possibilities!