netTrekker Blog

Yes, or no, to Wikipedia

During our implementation calls, the Customer Relationship Specialists cover the Admin Tools, including the netTrekker d.i. settings. Here the administrator can block the 1200 plus Wikipedia resources from showing up in the search results. On one of my calls yesterday, the district administrator asked me why netTrekker d.i. included Wikipedia in the first place.

That’s a great 21st Century question! Recently I attended a session on Literacy and Learning in the 21st Century presented by David Warlick. He addressed the use of Wikipedia in schools. He pointed out how Capital Hill aides were busy mutilating opponent articles in the days leading up to the 2006 election and how articles now have warnings of potential inaccuracy. He then said he’ll just go back to the good old days of “accurate textbooks”, but then pointed out that not all textbooks are accurate or unbiased and can quickly become out of date. Using Wikipedia is more than teaching fact and opinion. This resource serves as a working skill of evaluating a source and validating the information found on those pages. (This is my summarized understanding from what I learned attending this session.) You can find a copy of David Warlick’s presentation in podcast form from GAETC here. http://podcast.ksuettc.org/

This morning on Twitter I found another great blog entry on the use of Wikipedia at Dangerously Irrelevant. Check it out if you have time. The blog is written by Dr. Scott McLeod of Iowa State University.  

So while Wikipedia is a great 21st Century resource, we also understand that many schools are reluctant to allow students to have access, and netTrekker d.i. respects that decision. That’s why we give our subscribers two ways to filter out the search results. The first one is through the Advanced Search Options and the second one is by having the ADMIN setting this filter for the school level. To learn more about Wikipedia in netTrekker d.i., check out our HELP section.

And if you do choose to use a Wikipedia article in a project, consider adding the Digital Literacy Template that is wonderful for getting students to learn how to evaluate a source before using it. It’s perfect not only for Wikipedia entries, but all websites.

How many of you use Wikipedia in your classrooms? If you don’t mind, leave a comment below on how you use it.

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Tags: 21st Century Learning, Admin Tools, Wikipedia

2 Comments to Yes, or no, to Wikipedia

1. 

   While I understand that you have a market that often requests that you provide the ability to block out Wikipedia, I appreciate that you also are doing some education as to why they might want to reconsider that decision!
Scott McLeod on November 21st, 2008
2. 

   I am constantly in classrooms showing students and teachers how to use Net Trekker for research. During that lesson I always address the “rules” of research. My big three are:
   1. Use the Internet LAST, after you know about your topic.
   2. The Internet isn’t free–cite your sources.
   3. KNOW your sources. Here is where we talk about the difference in Net Trekker and “wikis”. The students often to not realize that a “wiki” is a discussion group and that anyone can change the articles. We often go to Wickipedia just to look for errors and to prove that you have to know your topic before going to the Internet. I always reassure them that Net Trekker is built for educators and students and that the resources are trustworthy.

   So, bottom line, I tell students and teachers NEVER to rely on Wikis, to use them as teaching tools to understand that the Internet is not regulated as books are, and then we use the good resources such as Net Trekker to actually do our research.
Diane Barfield on December 10th, 2008

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