7 Things You Should Know about Wikipedia - Week 5 #2

Wikipedia - a single word that cold make a professor shutter! Using a free encyclopedia that ANYONE can edit - YIKES, well at least some people feel that way. Does Wikipedia have to be viewed in that light- the simple answer - NO!

We have already taken sides on this issue and by we I mean those of us enrolled in  CMU's course EDU 653. I just so happened to be on the side that felt that Wikipedia could be used for academic research.

While reading the article, " 7 Things You Should Know about Wikipedia", I was not surprised to learn that  more and more faculty members of universities are using Wikipedia. Some colleges are still holding true to their ban on Wikipedia, but other colleges encourage students to create, edit and critic articles on Wikipedia.

While reading this article, I found out new information in regards to the idea of having students edit articles. I was unaware of the fact that some pages on Wikipedia have requirements or different protection levels. Controversial topics can not just be edited by any John Doe. You may have to be registered for a period of time or if the issue is really controversial, you may need to have administrator privileges!

Also, I knew that most Wikipedia pages have a discussion board for users to discuss the articles that have been written. I feel that these discussion boards can be a good means of asking questions, but I am sure that some discussions can get quite heated and not be appropriate for all users of Wikipedia to view.

Whatever side you may choose to take, well, that's your own business. I don't feel that Wikipedia is so bad it should be banned. I do not feel that Wikipedia should be the only means of research either. Take what you read and be logical. Use the reference list on the Wikipedia article and do a little more research. Just be sure to read this article before making a decision.

Educase Learning Initiative. "7 Things You Should Know about Wikipedia." Published Jun 2007. Accessed 22 Jul 2014. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7026.pdf