Let Wikipedia Be A Springboard For Greater Discovery

The temptation to abandon the long quest for multiple, accurate sources and settle down in a monogamous relationship with Wikipedia can prove almost overwhelming — especially to the busy college student. Therein lies the challenge for local institutions of higher education: Training students to think critically about their research without discouraging them from following the trail of breadcrumbs that so often begins with sites like Wikipedia. Instructors say the solution, if it can be called that, is to allow students to use Wikipedia as a springboard for greater discovery. “Part of what we hope to develop in school are the critical thinking skills to make sure (students’) information is accurate and reliable,” said Jocelyn Tipton, acting head of reference at Eastern Illinois University’s Booth Library. Read more at:
http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2008/09/04/features/doc48bf3ab499e78337021611.txt

Comments

[Yosemite75]

It's time to put aside reservations about Wikipedia. It's out there, a force to be reckoned with. And you know what? It has value. It's a 2.0 reference tool, and there are others. Build it into IL sessions, give students an understanding of its pros and cons and a strategy to deal with what it provides. We need to have a strategy for evaluating Wikipedia and many other social reference tools. And we need it now.