Skip to main content
Interactive Mathematics
Search IntMath
Close

Wikipedia - banned?

By Murray Bourne, 12 Feb 2007

Recently there was some chatter on one of the teachers' listservs that I subscribe to about Wikipedia.

A lecturer said that her students are banned from using Wikipedia for their research because it has not been reviewed by an editor (like a "real" encyclopedia is).

This got me thinking. Actually, Wikipedia is reviewed in a sense, because anyone who goes there and finds an article that is not quite right, can edit it.

I will often go to Wikipedia as a starting point when reading up on something and I always find that it is valuable. I will use other sources, of course, just like you would if you were to start your research with a real encyclopedia.

I don't think it is right to ban it, but it is important that students (and lecturers) know who writes it.

Be the first to comment below.

Related posts:

  1. The Truth about Martin Luther King Jr While King's influence on the civil rights movement was overall a Good Thing, I found...
  2. Peer Lesson Observations We get our newer lecturers to sit in on a peer buddy's lesson. They observe...
  3. Making Sense of Online Learning by Patti Shank, Amy Sitze A Summary Review A Guide for Beginners and the Truly...
  4. Digital natives - almost Even teachers find difficulty listening to talks, and will use their laptops as a welcome...

Posted in Learning (general) category - 12 Feb 2007 [Permalink]

Tags:

Leave a comment




Comment Preview

HTML: You can use simple tags like <b>, <a href="...">, etc.

To enter math, you can can either:

  1. Use simple calculator-like input in the following format (surround your math in backticks, or qq on tablet or phone):
    `a^2 = sqrt(b^2 + c^2)`
    (See more on ASCIIMath syntax); or
  2. Use simple LaTeX in the following format. Surround your math with \( and \).
    \( \int g dx = \sqrt{\frac{a}{b}} \)
    (This is standard simple LaTeX.)

NOTE: You can mix both types of math entry in your comment.

top

Tips, tricks, lessons, and tutoring to help reduce test anxiety and move to the top of the class.