Wikipedia, what a phenomenon! An encyclopaedia at your finger tips. As I don't have a particular subject, I just found myself wandering around, putting in different topics, just to see what would come up. What is great about this resource is that you can probably type in any subject you want and it will be there, right at your fingertips but it also has links to elaborate on particular topics, people, events as well as other resources. For example, if you search "History of Australia", it covers numerous topics from: Aboriginal Australians, WW II, Federation, Convicts, politics etc, but it provides links to elaborate on these particular topics within Wikipedia. It also provides links to the Australian portal which has links to the portals of different states/territories.
Providing students with weblinks to wikipedia would be a great startng point for students who are required to conduct research for a topic because it provides quick and easy access to the background knowledge of a subject. And it can be accessed at home or at school.
I also think it would be great (in an ideal world) that if a topic was being discussed and students' pose questions that teachers cannot answer, that the student who posed the question could get straight onto wikipedia and find an answer. It would show that we as teachers value student inquiry, it would add value to the topic and the transfer of information would be smooth, kept in context and without delay. If we could do this, then students may be more motivated to pose questions to expand their knowledge and understanding. We are also encouraging students to be responsible for their learning.
It would also demonstrate to students that teachers do not have all the answers and that learning is a collaborative process. We are not the 'gate keepers' of knowledge but managers of the learning experience as suggested by Smith, Lynch & Mienczakowski (2003, p. 4).
Outside of the school setting, students could be more proactive in their learning as we have armed them with a tool for the easy acquisition of information rather than using a search engine and this tool can be used beyond school.
Reference:
Smith, R., Lynch, D. & Mienczakowski, J. (2003). "The bachelor of learning management (BLM) and education capability": Why we do not prepare teachers anymore. Change: Transformations in Education, (6)(2): 23-37.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you have written in relation to student inquiry in this post. However, with the nature of wikis being that anyone can edit and un-edit content, have you considered the academic integrity of a wikipedia?
Wikipedia is undoubtedly a wealth of knowledge, but is it really the best source of knowledge for student learning and should we be encouraging our learners to use wikipedia (particularly in their secondary and tertiary years of education)?
I personally think Wikipedia is great as an initial point of call when you require information on a specific topic or want a general overview of a term or issue you are unsure of. However, I also think Wikipedia lacks academic merit and should be read with a critical mind, by teachers and students alike.
I’d like to know your thoughts on this too.
Cheers:D
Karlee
Hi Karlee, Thanks for the feedback! I actually have the same opinion as you about the internet in general and I actually made a comment in the forum very early on about this very same thing!! But, as Scot highlighted, at least with wikipedia, there are guidelines/rules that you have to abid by and moderators to ensure the information is accurate. Other self made websites/blogs/wikis are not bound by these types rules and I would be (I am) more hesitant in using those. I guess this why we should be selecting websites for students to explore rather than letting them explore randomly. To me, the use of wikipedia as opposed to a google search is the lesser of the two evils. Also, I would not be using it as the sole source of information (as a teacher or for my students - that would be foolish), but I think it could be used as a good starting point (as I mentioned in my post and to which you agree). As I have primary school focus, I am not too concerned about using it, but I probably wouldn't use it a great deal for secondary and certainly not for tertiary. Thanks for your thoughts. I think they are very valid and need to be considered. Regards, Natalie
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that using Wikipedia as a sole source is very limiting. It is essential that students learn to inquire further than just one spot and that they question what information they have found. They can only do this by finding alternative sites to check accuracy of previous finds.
What I do like about Wikipedia is that they often have links that can't be found elsewhere, or that you would actually think of looking for.
In the past I have found Wikipedia a great initial source of information.
Sally