A few comments on this topic. Just some things to consider.
1) Take a look at Citizendium, just getting started.
http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Main_Page
It's founder, Larry Sanger, is a co-founder of Wikipedia who left to start this
project. It requires more about who is actually posting the info.
"The project, started by a founder of Wikipedia, aims to improve on the
Wikipedia model by adding "gentle expert oversight" and requiring contributors
to use their real names."
2) Make sure when using Wikipedia you are using the most current version. In a
nutshell, any person can download the Wikipedia data and brand it as their own.
These results can and do appear on web engine results pages. However, the owner
of the site is not required to come back and download the most current version.
So, the ability to change material quickly, one of Wikipedia's strong points, is
lost.
3) I think the jury over the long term staying power of Wikipedia is still out.
Remember, the Open Directory and how that was going to be this massive and well
organized tool? Well, people move on to other things and the data gets left
behind.
Consider people who leave or will leave to start or join other projects. As the
database grows larger and larger it becomes more of a challenge to maintain
especially for less popular, but still important entries.
Also, realize, as noted here that the commercial interests are coming into play.
That's fine but it's important to realize. In other words, do we need to
redefine what an encyclopedia is? Does the real estate agency in your town
deserve a Wikipedia entry?
Of course, that leads us to getting an entry in the first place. In many cases
you have to jump through hoops.
More reading:
Law Professor Predicts Wikipedia’s Demise
http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196601766
and
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2007/05/wikipedia_and_s.htm
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6149264.html
cheers,
gary
p.s. Other tools.
Most of Microsoft Encarta remains available for free if you know the way to
access the content. Here's the route:
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/09/15/free-access-to-encarta-remains-after-msn-move-to-livecom-interface/
Quoting Laura Brooks <BrooksLa@NORTHVILLE.K12.MI.US>:
> Hi All,
>
> Ironically, we seem to shun Wikipedia, an early 2.0 source, for the
> very same reason we use blogs or wikis: their open-ended, collaborative;
> hence, unreliable nature. I agree with Shonda that we should be cautious
> with Wikipedia when teaching research tools, but should we choose not to
> teach it or only as a last resort? I think we should instead highlight
> how to use it. Isn't it an IP goal to help students become independent
> and critical users of information? They will face misinformation in
> various forms their entire lives; shouldn't we nurture a critical
> ability to check facts when warranted no matter what the source? Gee, I
> remember not so long ago teaching 6th graders that the World Wide Web
> itself could be unreliable. I've seen misinformation printed in
> reference books. What does the Academic Librarian who wrote Ann over
> Wikipedia use have to say about the renowned physicist, Alan Sokal, who
> intentionally wrote a hoax article published by a refereed journal, to
> highlight the shortcomings of academia?
> http://hps.elte.hu/~gk/Sokal/Sokal/boghossian_tls.html
>
> Besides students will use Wikipedia anyway!
>
> I think the key is to look at teacher expectations and student
> behavior; we need to change the former before the student use of
> Wikipedia will abate. Shonda says: "...showing students the BEST
> resources to use first (print, online databases, library resources,
> primary sources) and then showing them how bad information is easily
> located online by anyone with an Internet account." In my experience,
> this is overly optimistic; students model their teacher's expectations
> and behavior first, so if their teacher accepts Wikipedia, let the
> "research" begin! Why not meet students where they are? Teach Wikipedia,
> but in the way Shonda describes; as a possibly unreliable source that
> requires further fact-checking. Or, better yet, make a collaborative
> project out of it. Students can use more traditional, "reliable" sources
> to research a topic and create or add content to a Wikipedia article
> citing all their research. We should focus on the source only as a means
> to teach critical thinking.
>
> Just some thoughts in progress,
>
> Laura
>
> Laura Brooks
> Library Media Teacher
> Amerman Elementary School
> Northville, MI
> brooksla@northville.k12.mi.us
>
> "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
> nothing is going to get better. It's not."
> -The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
>
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Gary Price Library Research and Internet Consulting
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