Wikipedia is an interesting resource because as “wiki” implies, it’s quick. Wikipedia has a ton of information at your fingertips and it’s very easy to look something up on such a well known website.
I appreciate that the falsities of Wikipedia are acknowledged in this chapter. According to the texts, truth is strived for, although it cannot always be accomplished. Let’s face it, there’s always going to be someone who decides they will alter information. It’s a fact of life. Sidenote: Has anyone seen the episode of Colbert Report where he changes Wikipedia? It’s actually quite relevant. In fact, I’m going to put it on here.
Wikipedia is interesting in the realm of classroom use because it’s people interacting with one another. It’s not a group of experts editing every single entry but rather every day people supplying what they know.
I don’t think I would suggest Wikipedia as a resource for a research paper in my class, but as far as looking up needed-to-know information quickly, it’s definitely a useful resource.
