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Well put. And expresses my viewpoint exactly. I give a very similar explanation to my middle school students. Sarah Woo MS Librarian Danvers, MA 0923 sarahwoo@danvers.org On 2/3/09 10:17 AM, "Alicia Duell" <duella@RBHS208.ORG> wrote: > Good Morning All, > > I have been reading this thread with great interest, and now I feel that it's > my turn to jump into the fray! As part of my Big6 research unit with all > freshman and juniors, I devote a portion of one class to a discussion of > Wikipedia. I always start off by asking them their opinions of Wikipedia. A > few students inevitably raise their hands and grudgingly tell me that it's bad > and unreliable. Their jaws always drop, however, when I tell them that I > really like it and think it's incredibly useful! Some even cheer. I did NOT > always feel this way, however, but I thought about it a lot and I believe that > it's a little misleading to tell students that Wikipedia is a source with no > worth or credibility. I actually think that it's a goldmine of information to > kick off a research experience. I really and truly understand where everyone > is coming from, however, so I say this with all due respect to my colleagues! > I use Wikipedia in both my personal and professional life a great deal. ! > Whenever I'm faced with researching a topic with which I'm unfamiliar, I'll > often read the Wikipedia article for an overview of the topic, which almost > always provides me with a multitude of helpful information: great keywords > (names, places, subtopics, etc.); links to other Wikipedia articles which > provide me with further useful overviews and keywords; footnotes and citations > which point me to other books and articles; external links (section at the > very bottom of every Wikipedia article) which actually take me to other > websites that may be useful for my research. I get all of this from Wikipedia, > and I think that's a great thing! Because I use and value Wikipedia > personally, I feel that it's dishonest of me to denigrate it to students. We > always talk about its weaknesses, however, and I feel that students leave our > discussion with an understanding of how and why it's useful, but also why it's > not an appropriate academic resource to cite (authority of authorship is > importa! > nt when using info from a source-- I do hear my colleagues who argue that > it's perhaps elitist to refuse to cite a "less worthy" source, but when you > use a Wikipedia article as a jumping off point, without taking notes from it > and populating your final project with facts from other, cited, sources, I > feel like it's appropriate not to cite Wikipedia). Again, I feel that it's > inauthentic to dismiss Wikipedia outright as a useless resource, when I know > it's not useless! Kids are going to use it regardless of what we tell them > (not necessarily for school projects, but certainly in their own lives), and I > think that it sidelines us professionally, in the eyes of the kids, when they > KNOW it's useful, but we are telling them that it's not. Jump on board, I say, > and teach them to use it in the best way possible, while still protecting the > academic rigor and expectations of good research! > > Respectfully, > > Alicia Duell > Library Media Specialist > Riverside Brookfield High School > Riverside, IL 60546 > duella@rbhs208.org > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. > You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings > by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. > To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu > In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL > 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. > * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ > * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ > * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ > * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html > * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------