Wikipedia

Wikipedia is one of the most visited sites on the world wide web. Wikipedia is a website that was designed to be a free online encyclopedia to give people all over the world access to the same high quality information. The one difference between Wikipedia and another book source or paid online encyclopedia is that the information posted on the website can be changed or modified by anyone.

I personally use Wikipedia maybe three to four times a week. I don't use this site for research or for a source on a paper but I mainly use it for trivial information or when looking up a quick fact on a topic I might have a background in. I really enjoy looking up when celebrities were born and how old they are by using this website. When I am watching an old movie and see an actor when they were really young I often use Wikipedia to see how old they were when the film was shot.

As a teacher I will accept work from a student that cited Wikipedia as a source as long as there are at least two other sources that are credible. I think the idea of using Wikipedia as a launching pad is a great idea. Get students engaged with material they otherwise would not want to do is key, get them started on Wikipedia and it will springboard them to other websites or resources to find information.

My policy regarding internet research will be simple. For every time a student used Wikipedia they must use at least two other sources. If a student doesn't want to use three sources then they can't use Wikipedia. I want them to be able to find reliable information on the web but at the same time i don't want them to become too comfortable using Wikipedia because it is so quick and easy. I will teach them how to search for reliable sources and how to determine if they are credible.