Monday, February 23, 2015

Post #2 - Judging the Quality of Wikis and Non-vetted Sites



I do not allow my students to cite Wikipedia in their assignments. The main reason that I do not allow this is because I know that all throughout my college career I was told I was not allowed to use Wikipedia. I do not want to get the students dependent on a tool that they probably won't be allowed to use anyway. I've noticed that Wikipedia is the first place that many students look and I truly want to break them of this habit. I try and get them to look for scholarly articles instead. On the other hand, I do tell my students that although Wikipedia is a wiki and anyone can edit it, it still can be a good resource just to find out general knowledge. Using Wikipedia to settle an argument about a celebrities age is different than using it for a research paper. 

I use Youtube quite often in my class. I think that students respond well to videos, especially if they are short and entertaining. Unfortunately, my school has Youtube, teachertube, and schooltube  completely blocked from the students, unless I play a video for them, they cannot utilize these tools.  

13 comments:

  1. Victoria,
    I do not let my students use Wikipedia as a primary source either. I require them to use scholarly articles or established periodicals, etc. Even though I did not know about the editing and deleting of information that occurs, I was aware that reports about its credibility existed, but I do not know how to sort out the information to pass down to the student. I use Youtube, teachertube, and schooltube with my students also. I like to use videos because it also help address those subjects that makes it come alive to students outside of the text. I see we practice the same strategies with our students.

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    1. Yes we do practice the same strategies! My students react extremely well to videos too. We've got to be doing something right! haha.

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    2. My question would be this to challenge your statements: how is the information in YouTube more/less credible than Wikipedia?

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  2. I agree with you Victoria, if I was in your shoe I will do what you did. I like it when you said that wiki it still can be a good resource just to find out general knowledge. We have to encourage our students to think critically, but what about using wiki as a collaborative instructional platform, have you ever used it in your classroom? I think from what I have read in Fu (2012) and Wang (2005) empirical studies, the results were very impressive. There are some idealistic hypotheses that Wiki technology is “naturally beneficial” to learning.
    I am just like you, I use YouTube a lot and I love it; it is all relevant though. I am with not allowing the students to have an access to YouTube, because teen ager can never be trustful with it.

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    1. I agree with that Fu views Wiki's as being beneficial to learning. The study also indicted some benefits such as information sharing, being able to publish links, and communicate online with each other.

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  3. I actually have never used a wiki until before this class. To be completely honest, so far I'm not totally into it and wouldn't consider using it in my own instruction at this point. If the goal is to collaborate, there are several other ways to do so that I find more "user friendly". There are tons of tools that can be "naturally beneficial" to learning. I'm just not sold on the wiki idea yet. I prefer having my students create their own website.

    I agree that teenagers can definitely take advantage of Youtube but it can also be super beneficial so it's hard to weigh out whether or not we should give students access.

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    1. Wikis, admittedly, have not advanced their user experience much over the years. I do fear that will lead to their downfall. So, any suggestions for more 'user friendly' alternatives (Google products aside)?

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  4. Victoria,
    I love that you are preparing your students for being credible in college. Credible sources and information are extremely important in college and thats something that I believe K-12 could tighten up on. I noticed that Wikipedia is a primary source that students use but ideally its because its the first source that appears in a google search. I do like that Google has a scholarly articles tab to search under. I don't necessarily allow my students to utilize Wikipedia for a credible source but I do allow them to use it to begin gathering information. All in all, Wikipedia is not a source that I need them to use often especially compared to Youtube. Youtube has been a lifesaver for me. A lot of lessons and assignments have Youtube videos or clips that compliment it and saves me from recreating the wheel. An example is the lesson on Digital Portfolios. There are many examples on Youtube and many examples I use to show my students what I am seeking in this particular lesson.

    According to the Deters reading, wiki's have become more prevalent as an "effective tool for educators" and enables collaboration. I have yet to utilize Wiki's in this form but I wanted to know how if you felt like Wikipedia would ever grow into this great, collaborative space for information and knowledge? Do you feel like it will always be a debatable tool regarding its credibility?

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    1. I do believe that Wikipedia will always have it's credibility in question because it's what we were taught and it's what we continue to teach. Even if it does become a "great collaborative space for information and knowledge", I believe it's going to take some time for the stigma surrounding Wikipedia to go away. Although Wikipedia is one of the main targets for credible source drama, at least teachers are teaching the student's that everything you read isn't necessarily a true or a good source.

      I'm grateful for Wikipedia and it's abundance of true and good information but I will still continue not allowing my students to use it as a primary source.

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    2. Do you let them use news articles? If so, are their sources you prefer they use (let's say, New York Times versus an article on Newsmax, Infowars, the Blaze [Glen Beck's site], or Mother Jones)?

      My point is this: credibility can vary, even from what we think is good information in the "news" from "journalists" (note the quotes to indicate suspicion). And even the most credible of sources aren't infallible, per the links in my email last week.

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  5. Victoria,I agree with Kilylise that I love that you are preparing your students for being credible in college, that will save them a lot of time to build on and expand their learning.
    Kiylise, I am impressed with your method as well and I utilized YouTube a lot, because of my students' needs. The truth that I am so enthusiastic about Wiki that I like to try new things.

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    1. Thank you Fatina! I really try to stress the importance of citing sources and plagiarism. It's always a work in progress!

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