aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Friday, August 11, 2006
On student use of Wikipedia in research
Wikipedia recently made headlines when it banned Stephen Colbert from editing or adding articles on its pages after the comedian made humorous, false additions to the site and encouraged fans to do the same.
But Colbert’s antics may have done the world--and by the world, I mostly mean me and my peers--a favor. Until recently, many kids in my high school, myself included, used Wikipedia without questioning the integrity of its content. Before Colbert highlighted the unreliability of the site’s information, I doubt many people even realized it isn’t an authoritative, credible source.
Yes, teachers and parents constantly remind students to think twice before relying on certain online sources, but it’s easy for a student in a rush to forget that Wikipedia belongs in the category of unverified information rather than credible information--especially because its format is one of a traditional encyclopedia.
Dr. Alan Liu from the University of California at Santa Barbara has developed a draft student policy statement on student use of Wikipedia. Teachers would do well to read it, adapt it and discuss it with students.
