Journal Number Six

“Wikipedia: Ban It or Boost It?”
Doug Johnson

The website http://wikipedia.org in an online encyclopedia; however, this encyclopedia can be revised by anyone at anytime. To most people this fact would make one question the validity of this resource. In this article, Doug Johnson points out several experts who have evaluated entries on their areas of expertise and found the information presented to be highly accurate, with very minor, if any, discrepancies. This article seems to show that Wikipedia is an extremely useful source because it has more information, and articles, than the Encyclopedia Britannica on many more topics. The topics that are found in Wikipedia, rather than the Encyclopedia Britannica, are of topics one might not always think about, things like “the Boston Molasses disaster, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada . . .” or even “a definition of Philadelphia cheesesteak.” In addition to the wide array of topics covered, Wikipedia is updated more regularly than printed resources and, because of this, can cover more current issues and technologies. Pages that do contain controversial material are noted as such and offer opinions on both sides of the issue so the reader can understand the controversy.

1. Will I allow my students to use Wikipedia as a reputable source for information?
I will allow my students to use Wikipedia as a reputable source only after they’ve learned how to evaluate the validity of websites and compare the information with that found elsewhere on the same topic. If my students are able to evaluate the information on their own it will be an extremely valuable tool for them because our world is becoming more technology-centered and a lot of information can be found online. I’ll allow my students to use Wikipedia as long as it is not their only source for information.

2. What do I think of Wikipedia?
I personally believe that Wikipedia is a valuable source as long as it is used with scrutiny. If I’m doing research on a more recent issue, I may not be able to find a lot of information elsewhere. As a student, I turn to my peers for more information and a better understanding on many concepts; the same is true with Wikipedia, it’s like turning to a peer that is wiser on a given topic than you are.