Allowing, and even recommending, students to use Wikipedia in the classroom can be a first step in changing the educational paradigm. We (educators, administrators, parents) find reasons to discredit the openly editable nature of the site, yet so many of us use it for finding answers to common questions.
Students should be able to use it in the classroom as one source for finding answers to common questions and spend the bulk of their energy and concentration on the application of what their learning.
If the reliability and accuracy of Wikipedia is a big question in a classroom, teachers could turn it into a teachable moment. Make it an assignment (preferably toward the beginning of the school year) for students to search Wikipedia for inaccuracies.
Have students present their findings in a manner in which they're most comfortable (speaking in front of the class, audio recording, screencast, PowerPoint, etc.). Log all of the inaccuracies and then compare them to other sources, such as the Encyclopedia Brittanica or other online information sources.
Assignments like this lead into conversations teach students valuable lessons. Such as;
- What is a reliable source?
- What happens when information changes faster than the source?
- Who owns information?
- Whose responsible for keeping/changing information?
- Does the teacher always have reliable information?
- Where do I find the MOST reliable information for the questions I have?
- Who and how do I site information correctly?
There are many more questions and conversations that will come out of an activity like this, the best teachers will allow the conversation to happen and guide students to make the best decision with the best information possible.
Wikipedia is not always the most reliable or accurate, but it is the most viewed and widely accepted source of common knowledge. Students should be able to use it in the classroom and learn from its accuracies and discrepancies.
