Monday, February 9, 2009

Wikipedia in the Elementary Classroom?

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical of Wikipedia, and the validity of its information. But after reading Chapter 4 in the Richardson book I gained some confidence in Wikipedia through his comment that said, "there are vastly more editors that want to make it (information) right than those that want to make it wrong." My major problems with Wikipedia deal with the readability level and the (accurate) inappropriate content for an elementary student. For example, a student was researching Maya Angelou for Black History Month, and Wikipedia shared information about her being sexually abused as a child. Now, I realize this information is factual, but it is definitely inappropriate for elementary students. I think Wikipedia is a great source for information, but teachers need to use great caution in editing what the students should and shouldn't read. What are your thoughts about using Wikipedia in the elementary classroom?
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3 comments:

  1. Wm ChamberlainFebruary 12, 2009 at 7:21 PM

    Wikipedia as a source is wonderful. It is so compelling because of the ability for people to fix problems found in the information. If an error is found in a textbook it may be up to five years before the error gets corrected in the new edition you will get.

    On the other hand, using any one source of information is not wise, even on wikipedia. I try to teach my students to check several sources and see what information is different. Then, of course, they have to make a decision about what is true. That is a very important skill.

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  2. AL27February 21, 2009 at 8:39 AM

    Wikipedia, I agree is a great resource tool that can be used to gather information rather quickly and the students use it very often.But just like anything else you just have to inform people to double check any information you get from The Internet from many other sources.

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  3. LoraFebruary 25, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    I agree that it is hard for the students to use wikipedia independently. What I have used in the past is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids
    The language is a little easier for primary students.

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