There are a couple of specific pieces to note here (I posted a little
bit about this on my blog); There really needs to be some discussion of
how to evaluate, no mention of formally integrating research literacy
skills into what could really be a fine piece of real purpose writing.
It is important that student researchers understand the need for and how
to apply a critical application of evaluative skills.
It would be an interesting experiment to have a group work up an
article based on a specific piece of classroom study and specific
interests (say - early inhabitants or european exploration of your
state) with cites and signed with qualifications (Mrs. Smith's 8th grade
Washington history class) and put it up as a new article and link to
appropriate parts of what is there. The specificity of focus will add to
the body of knowledge in wikipedia. The teacher and librarian would have
some background knowledge that will help in helping student researchers
evaluate resources. The narrowness of focus helps improve the writing
and would help limit later editors to those with some expertise in the
topic.
Robert Eiffert
Librarian, Pacific MS Vancouver WA
pac.egreen.wednet.edu/library beiffert@egreen.wednet.edu
Librarian in the Middle Blog: beiffert.net robert@beiffert.net
SBrisco wrote:
> I think that the idea of Wikipedia not being a "valid resource" is almost
> ironic. I don't recommend the use of the website, but I have had several
> teachers who think it is the "living, breathing World Book of the modern
> world"---and I cringe. Although this site is questionable, I see the
> irony
> of discrediting this site all the while we see contradictions in the
> "main
> media" being presented to us through television, radio, magazines, and
> newspapers, but continue to use them as our main source for information.
> The idea that there is "one or two authoritative" sources above all
> others
> has become less defined.
>
> Using Wikipedia (and other sources of information, including print,
> television, radio, and website resources) as a teaching lesson for
> students
> to determine what is or is not valid for classroom research can also be
> transferred to life skills tools (something that we all need today!).
> For
> those individuals who take ALL information presented to them as "factual"
> there are problems. Many times, these individuals are adults / educators
> (who should know better, but who have grown up trusting the media /
> printed
> word). These people feel that the information presented to them
> should not
> be questioned...and that worries me more than anything else.
>
> I'm finding more students than teachers are skeptical of the information
> that they find. This is due, in part, because of our (librarians)
> instruction in evaluation procedures; however, Wikipedia is one resource
> that can be used to instruct not only our students but also our
> teachers in
> how to evaluate information. In fact, it might be a great in-service
> presentation to your faculty, especially if you find them relying on
> these
> types of websites as valid research sites.
>
>
> From: "Andy Carvin" <acarvin@EDC.ORG>
>
>
> Here's a short essay about Wikipedia I posted on my blog last night
> that I
> thought might be of interest... -andy
>
> Turning Wikipedia into an Asset for Schools
> http://www.andycarvin.com
> permalink:
> http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2005/07/turning_wikiped.html
>
> Art Wolinsky and I went to dinner tonight just outside of Atlantic City,
> where I'll be leading a two-day workshop on documentary making for a
> group
> of elementary school teachers. During dinner, Art and I talked about what
> I'll be presenting tomorrow morning, as well as fun Internet topics
> such as
> video blogging, podcasting and Wikipedia.
>
> On Wikipedia in particular, we talked about the hostility that many
> educators have towards the website, particularly their concerns that it
> can't be considered a reliable source. It's the classic dilemma of a wiki
> website - because wikis allow any site visitor to edit or add content,
> you
> raise the risk of getting content that isn't up to snuff. And the fact
> that
> young and old alike often go to Wikipedia and see that its name ends
> in -pedia, they assume it's just like any other encyclopedia and they
> should
> take its content as vetted, accurate information, which ain't always the
> case.
>
> I explained to Art the community of Wikipedia volunteers known as
> Wikipedians who have created a system of checks and balances to
> improve the
> quality of content and avoid problems with virtual graffiti and
> inaccuracies. But it's not a perfect system, so it's not a huge surprise
> that a lot of educators just don't want their students utilizing the
> site.
>
> I had a flashback; a group of us on the WWWEDU email list had tried to
> create a "Kidopedia" - an online encyclopedia written entirely by kids -
> back in 1996, hosted by St. John's University. It didn't get very far
> because all encyclopedia entries were being posted manually by real
> people;
> that, and the fact that it was hard to articulate a compelling case as to
> why kids should be doing this in the first place.
>
> While I understand educators' concerns about directing kids towards
> "reliable" reference sources, the more I think about it, the more I think
> Wikipedia's flaws actually make it an ideal learning tool for
> students. That
> may sound counterintuitive, of course - how can you recommend a tool that
> you know may not be accurate? Well, that's precisely the point: when
> you go
> to Wikipedia, some entries are better referenced than others. That's
> just a
> basic fact. Some entries will have a scrupulous list of sources cited
> and a
> detailed talk page on which Wikipedians debate the accuracy of
> information
> presented in order to improve it. Others, though, will have no sources
> cited
> and no active talk pages. To me, this presents teachers with an excellent
> authentic learning activity in which students can demonstrate their
> skills
> as scholars.
>
> Here's a quick scenario. Take a group of fifth grade students and
> break them
> into groups, with each group picking a topic that interests them. Any
> topic.
> Dolphins, horses, hockey, you name it.
>
> Next, send the groups of kids to Wikipedia to look up the topic they
> selected. Chances are, someone has already created a Wikipedia entry
> on that
> particular subject. The horse, for example, has an extensive entry on the
> website. It certainly looks accurate and informative, but is it?
> Unfortunately, there are no citations for any of the facts claimed about
> horses on the page.
>
> This is where it gets fun. The group of students breaks down the
> content on
> the page into manageable chunks, each with a certain amount of facts that
> need to be verified. The students then spend the necessary time to
> fact-check the content. As the students work their way through the list,
> they'll find themselves with two possible outcomes: either they'll verify
> that a particular factoid is correct, or they'll prove that it's not.
> Either
> way, they'll generate a paper trail, as it were, of sources proving the
> various claims one way or another.
>
> Once the Wikipedia entry has been fact-checked, the teacher creates a
> Wikipedia login for the class. They go to the entry's talk page and
> present
> their findings, laying out every idea that needs to be corrected.
> Then, they
> edit the actual entry to make the corrections, with all sources cited.
> Similarly, for all the parts of the entry they've verified as
> accurate, they
> list sources confirming it. That way, each idea presented in the
> Wikipedia
> entry has been verified and referenced - hopefully with multiple sources.
>
> Get enough classrooms doing this, you kill several birds with one stone:
> Wikipedia's information gets better, students help give back to the
> Net by
> improving the accuracy of an important online resource, and teachers
> have a
> way to make lemons into lemonade, turning Wikipedia from a questionable
> information source to a powerful tool for information literacy.
>
> I can already see it now: an official K-12 Seal of Approval put on
> Wikipedia
> entries that have been vetted by students. Wish I were more handy in
> Photoshop. -andy
>
> --
> -----------------------------------
> Andy Carvin
> Program Director
> EDC Center for Media & Community
> acarvin @ edc . org
> http://www.digitaldivide.net
> http://www.tsunami-info.org
> Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com
> -----------------------------------
>
>
>
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