Is Wikipedia a Reliable Source of Information?

One of the first websites that is likely to come up in an online search for information is Wikipedia, a Educational Technology for Teachers.

free encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit and add information. Much of this post is an excerpt from my book,

The allure of Wikipedia is that it is free and easy to find, and almost anyone can share their knowledge and post or edit an article. However, this allure has also led teachers to be wary of the reliability of Wikipedia's content. In a previous podcast episode, I discuss a test you can use to determine the accuracy of information sources, called the CRAP test. But Wikipedia is a different issue altogether.

While anyone can edit the pages, it's important to remember that changes on Wikipedia pages are monitored. One experiment that we conducted in class involved sabotaging a Wikipedia article for a University by changing the University's official slogan. It took only two minutes for the change to be corrected back to the original slogan. We tried the same change again, and again it was corrected, but this time it took a few hours.

Some studies have even found that Wikipedia is as accurate as other major encyclopedias and information (see Reliability of Wikipedia for more information). So if Wikipedia is just as accurate as other major encyclopedias, then why can't students use this information as a cited source? Is it that we just have a bias against sources of information that can be easily found online? One point to remember is that the studies featured at the above link are reported by Wikipedia, which has an interest in casting a positive light on it's own information. However, it is pretty clear with the way that things are reported, that Wikipedia is overall a very accurate source of information.

My suggestion for teachers is that right now it is probably best to allow students to use Wikipedia as a tool to gather preliminary information on a topic but not as a reference to cite within a paper. Instead, students should be encouraged to follow the references at the bottom of a Wikipedia article for more accurate citations. Even so, it makes me wonder at what point should we allow citations of Wikipedia articles in student papers if these articles are indeed as accurate as they are purported to be?

Is Information Presentation Part of The Future of Teaching?

In our Information Age society, diversity and personal initiative are valued over control and conformity. We have abundant sources of information which continue to increase exponentially. What types of learning activities will carry on, and what types will fall by the wayside as education continues to move into the Information Age?

I set out to answer this question and I include the answers here and in my book, Educational Technology for Teachers. This post is specifically about one type of learning activity: information presentation. In other posts, I'll discuss other types of learning activities, including grading, classroom management, determining instructional strategies and designing learning experiences. 

"Information presentation" is where the teacher stands in the classroom and talks to students. Lectures are information presentation activities. Students sit quietly and pay attention to the teacher. There may also be visuals such as lessons on the interactive whiteboard, slideshow presentations, posters and pictures. 

Will teachers do more or less information presentation in the future? The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (p21.org) has designated a set of skills that are critical for students to survive and thrive in the 21st century. Among these 21st century skills are information literacy, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, technology literacy, initiative and self-direction. You will not find "sitting and listening" listed as vital for students’ success in the 21st century. One can easily see that skills like information literacy, creativity, and critical thinking are not as easily supported through methods of teaching that primarily involve the transmission of information from teacher to student.

The amount of information available to us continues to increase at an exponential rate, while new technologies continue to make access to this information easier and faster. Also consider further the possibility that students can access information from a variety of sources in a very brief amount of time. The amount of information created in our society continues to increase exponentially (Dragland, 2013; Lyman & Varian, 2003). In fact, a recent study found that 90% of the world’s data was created during only the past few years (Dragland, 2013). In addition, computers and mobile devices allow for faster, easier and more universal access to this information. Therefore:

A teacher can no longer assume that he or she is the sole source of information from which students can learn.

With a variety of information sources available and almost universal access to the information, it will be less likely in the future for teachers to use class time to present information, although this learning method is not likely to suddenly go away.

References

Dragland, A. (2013). Big Data, for better or worse: 90% of world’s data generated over last two years. SINTEF. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.sintef.no/home/Press-Room/Research-News/Big-Data--for-better-or-worse/

Lyman, P., & Varian, H. R. (2003). Summary of findings. How Much Information? Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/execsum.htm