There's been quite a bit of discussion in the last few years about whether Wikipedia is a credible source. It is often the very first result that you'll see when you search on just about any topic. So do you allow students to use it?
My take is... yes! And here are my reasons:
- Wikipedia has been around for enough years that the body of research is quite sophisticated.
- The community is self-policed. There are individuals who are on the lookout for false or incomplete information and who won't hesitate to flag a page or even delete it. Adding information anonymously is also a flag for moderators to pay attention.
- The page will be flagged if facts are documented, ie. supported by references.
- At the bottom of each page there are often excellent links to related material. Wikipedia is a good starting point for research.
As a teacher, I would ask students to use 3 sources of information - Wikipedia can be one of them.
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