Wikipedia was like a dirty word most of my college career. If students unwittingly used, and cited Wikipedia, they were the subject of ridicule. Teachers would point them out to the class as an example of what not to do. I always felt like there was value to Wikipedia, but I could never prove it. The tools that we were shown today validate that feeling, and show that Wikipedia can be a useful avenue for learning. I knew about the hyper links, but he grade scale for posts is a revelation. Knowing that the half life of information is 18 months means anything bound and printed is pretty much out of date. Students will need access to up to date information in order to stay informed. With the new emphasis on technology in the classroom there is a good chance that students will have 1 to 1 access to some sort of device. The device now becomes a portal for the student to, not only explore, but interact with there education.
I also like the idea of students being able to update articles with a logon ID. Having students update or add on to articles will be a great form of assessment. Telling the student that the whole world will be able to see their work will assuredly mean higher quality work will be produced. (Shoot i'm nervous just having my cohort read this.) Engaging a worldwide audience will show students they have the power to influence and touch the world. This is also a great way to document student voice in the classroom. That's pretty rad!
https://www.writeabout.com/2017/07/what-makes-reading-so-enjoyable-8/
I could relate to this so much....I remember teachers doing the same thing! I think Wikipedia could be a really awesome tool in the classroom, especially for upper elementary through high school. I'm sure you could even have activities involving it that could meet some sort of standard!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica...Wikipedia will be used in my classroom as way to have the students verify what they have learned
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with your post! I feel that Wikipedia does not get the recognition it deserves! Because truly, although not many teachers have preached for us to use Wikipedia, we did! Well, at least I did. In all honesty, kids nowadays should not have to spend hours and hours doing research, when Wikipedia is there to help facilitate the tedious process of finding articles. Don't get me wrong, I do think kids need to know how to do research, but in a way that saves them time (work smarter not harde kind of thing). Most kids time is already structured they don't need for us to add more stress on their already filled plates.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how wikipedia has been poo pooed by educators for years, yet I found myself using it for a majority of learning and education for myself. It was great to finally find legitimacy for wikipedia and back up this argument when it comes up with other educators in the future.
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