There has been some debate this week about whether or not to encourage or condone the use of Wikipedia in schools. I can certainly see the argument for both sides. My knee-jerk reaction, a year or two ago, was to agree with those that discouraged its use. However, it didn't take much further thought to change my mind.
I think that we need to remind ourselves as to what our role is as teachers. Is not the purpose of education to prepare our students for the world they live in? How is avoiding Wikipedia, likely one of the most used websites ever, being realistic? Will they view their education as valid when we so such things as dismissing significant global internet tools?
But this isn't just about Wikipedia. This debate will go on and soon we will be debating the use of Facebook in schools. And the debates will never end. There will always be new ideas or tools that we find questionable. And its not a new problem. Debates such as these are as old as the hills, it is just a new topic manifesting itself in the traditional quandary: Do we condone or accept the evolving idea, action or norm of society, even if it challenges our morals or ideals?
I will provide a personal and historic example: One of my university professors would not allow papers that were printed from a computer. Typed papers were accepted, but not computer generated papers. She was convinced that anything from a computer was likely the product of cut and paste and most likely to be poorly edited or plagiarized. It's laughable now!
I think we have to put ourselves in the world of our students, whether or not we like it or not, and arm them with tools and skills to navigate the wavy waters. In the case of Wikipedia, we have to teach them to double check facts with more reputable sources and to understand the pitfalls of collective authorship. At the same time, we must understand why students, and adults, embrace this website. There are some great benefits to Wikipedia!
No comments:
Post a Comment