Journal #10 Wikipedia: Friend or Foe? by Thomas Hammond and David Farhie (NETS 5)

Farhie, D. and Hammond, T. (April 2009). Wikipedia: Friend or Foe? Learning and Leading With Technology, Retrieved April 8, 2009, from http://www.iste.org.-am-template.cfm.section=april_no_07&template_/

This article gave the positive and negative sides of using Wikipedia as a classroom resource. The “friend”, Assistant Professor Hammond, stated that Wikipedia offers a chance for open curriculum that uses critical thinking and knowledge construction. Wikipedia should also be used as a structure for information rather than a direct source. Hammond also suggests that Wikipedia can be used for students to compare and contrast topics. For example, an article on Castro is different in English than it is in Spanish. Students can analyze Wikipedia information alongside the information found in a textbook, again offering the opportunity for critical thinking.
On the “foe” side of using Wikipedia is Farhie, a high school educator. He argues that Wikipedia should not be used as a resource in the classroom. He refers to Wikipedia as a huge collection of well-written research papers. He questions the qualifications of those who post on Wikipedia, and says it may have half-truths and misinformation.
1. Would you allow the use of Wikipedia in your classroom?
I think students should be allowed to examine different resources that are available to them and they should be taught how to determine the credibility of a resource. They should also cross check facts before accepting them as the truth. I think it would be a useful tool in the classroom as long as it was not the only tool students use.
2. In what way would you assign students a research project using Wikipedia?
I recently taught my fourth grade students about biographies and had them choose a person they wanted to do a presentation on in front of the class. They used Wikipedia to gather information and pictures. While helping them search, I pointed out that the most credible resources were ones that were directly related to the person, such as the Baseball Hall of Fame for Babe Ruth, etc. The students used other resources as well so that they had a well-rounded view of their chosen person.