Who knew? Not everything on wikipedia is editable. In fact, no one is allowed to edit the entry on 'Mail Order Brides" or "Cuba" or even "2004 Election Voting Controversies". Those aricles are only allowed to be edited by site administrators. Playstation 3, Jews, and John Wayne can only be edited by people who have been a member for 4 days. Apparently, these topics have created enough disturbance on wikipedia that some rules now have to be placed on the incredible site. It was only a matter of time.
The idea of Point of View is apparently a very large concern on wikipedia as well. The argument about POV, actually NPOV (no point of view) is interesting. Can writing truly be without a point of view? The wiki warriors argue that the best wiki entries have no personality behind them; they are entries on facts and ideas without a side. However, that is an impossibility. Wikipedia's own entry about the neutrality it is supposed to show says this, "Wikipedia is an encyclopedia." Even that is up for debate. It might be an encyclopedia; it might be a social experiment. Even simple facts are up for debate. So, the NPOV idea that wikipedia strives for will always come under scrutiny.
The educational value of wikipedia though is not on the pages seen when you search for something; rather, the real value is seen in the discussion pages. Next time you go to wikipedia, click on the discussion tab at the top of the page you are reading. The writing about what should belong and what should be removed is quite educational, and the many kinds of arguments are extremely interesting.
Andy Carvell had an interesting way to make wikipedia useful for schools. He believes that because wikipedia is created with a variety of editors, students can now refine their skills as scholars. By having students chunk a section of an article of interest from wikipedia and research the facts presented, these students can then edit the page appropriately for what he/she has researched. The student can then go to the discussion page to explain exactly why changes were made by showing the sources found and used. This seems like a strong way to teach web 2.0 in today's classrooms, and it improves student writing in many facets. My classes next year will definitely have this assignment.
2 comments:
This is a very informative post. The NPOV is very important for information in an encyclopedia, but is very hard to do.
It appears that Wikipedia is beginning to go the same route as all the earlier encyclopedias we grew to love and cherish. I did not realize they were starting to restrict sites. I feel like a whole class could be taught on how to navigate and successfully use Wikipedia.
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