Wiki Knowledge In the Classroom

Wiki is the lifeblood for my research. I often consult it to gain a general understanding of a topic and to learn more about trivial information and pop culture. For example, when I wanted to know if Laura Bush was really a librarian after watching the film W, I went to Wikipedia for the answer. It is always the starting place for my research on a new topic. Typically, I am able to gain enough general knowledge to conduct thorough research after gaining a Wiki understanding of the overarching concepts and terminology for a given topic. I also find that Wikipedia is excellent for consulting the reference materials listed as the basis/at the end of each article. The books/resources that Wikipedia suggests often lead to more complete resources and material lists.
As a teacher I would not allow Wikipedia as a cited piece of research. I would encourage my students to use Wiki as a source of gaining basic knowledge, but it is in no means scholarly nor is it thoroughly peer reviewed. Students are functioning in an academic environment and need to use academic materials for their research like books, journal articles, and original source or government documents. Doug Johnson in his article, Wikipedia: Ban It or Boost It, would disagree with me on this point. Mr. Johnson writes that Wikipedia is an important research tool because it catalogs information that is more up-to-date than print information. While I agree with Mr. Johnson that this is probably the case, I would argue that the appeal of scholarly material is that it does not change with whim. Topics that have been thoughtfully studied over time and synthesized into the material that is published in a journal are more reliable. Often time’s, information disseminated with immediacy is prone to errors, misunderstandings, and faulty fact checking.
My policy surrounding Internet research would be that for every two Internet sources used, at least one print source must also be included with a minimum of ten sources total for a research report. Good, thorough researching is a time consuming, thought provoking effort. The more comprehensive the research is in its early stages, the more likely the student will gain the knowledge to think critically and analyze a topic in depth. The point of the research is to make an individual an expert in a given subject area, and while Wikipedia is an excellent place to start this process, it falls short of being all-inclusive.
On A Wiki Anecdotal Note: My husband and I often jokingly refer to Wikipedia as “the source of all knowledge.” For instance, his younger brother might say that he is curious about a topic and so I will tell him to “check Wikipedia- it’s the source of all knowledge.” This first started out as a family joke because we would often tell his little brothers various stories and then get on Wikipedia and edit the entries before they looked them up so that the facts were consistent with what we had said. The sad reality of our pranks came about when his little brothers really began to regard each piece of Wiki info as absolute truth. I now realize that the younger generation does not know how to discern fact from fiction and Wiki from Britannica.


Johnson, D. “Wikipedia: Ban It or Boost It?” Learning and Leading with Technology. (October 2006). Pp. 26-27.