"It is irresponsible for educational institutions not to teach new
knowledge technologies such as Wikipedia...we do a fundamental
disservice to our students if we continue to propagate old methods of
knowledge creation and archivization without also teaching them how
these structures are changing, and, more importantly, how they will
relate to knowledge creation and dissemination in a fundamentally
different way."
Taken from: Parry, David. Wikipedia and the New Curriculum: Digital Literacy Is Knowing How We Store What We Know. Science Progress. February 2008.
(and thanks to Bernie Sloan (via Web4lib) for bringing this quote---and the article---to my attention)
Taken from: Parry, David. Wikipedia and the New Curriculum: Digital Literacy Is Knowing How We Store What We Know. Science Progress. February 2008.
(and thanks to Bernie Sloan (via Web4lib) for bringing this quote---and the article---to my attention)
Excellent quote and excellent article Ellysa - thanks for sharing.
I remember about a year ago, when discussion of Wikipedia banning was all the rage. There was a quote from a Research Librarian at Temple (Steven Bell) that I always loved:
“I understand what their concerns are. There’s no question that [on Wikipedia and similar sites] some things are great and some things are questionable. Some of the pages could be by eighth graders. But to simply say ‘don’t use that one’ might take students in the wrong direction from the perspective of information literacy.
Students face 'an ocean of information' today, much of it of poor quality, so a better approach would be to teach students how to 'triangulate' a source like Wikipedia, so they could use other sources to tell whether a given entry could be trusted. I think our goal should be to equip students with the critical thinking skills to judge."
Teaching students how to think critically about the information they read rather than banning it. What a novel idea...
I did talk with one faculty member who promoted Wikipedia in Mathematics in particular where it has some strengths, but I have noticed quite variable depth in different topics. My proposal is to involve a "W" writing course in creating more Wikipedia content. That way critical thinking is brought to play.
Maybe you could call it "Thought of the Week" to be more true to content production ;) I can have "Thought of the Year" :(
Frankly, banning is just easier for everyone involved. Why is it easier? Because it eliminates a need to evaluate the info presented (obviously a key part of info lit) for both the professor, the students, and the librarians.
Wikipedia is just like any other tool, and you need to have the right tool for the job at hand. In academic research, where expert opinion is still valued, it's the wrong tool; something akin to trying to use a screwdriver on a nail. In lower-stakes everyday information searching, it's a fine tool...but, as with ALL info resources, the material should be evaluated before you pronounce it as gospel.
Anyhow, that's my pretentious two cents.