The Merits of Wikipedia for Current Events

I often find myself having to explain why we should use Wikipedia in the classroom.  Using Wikipedia is vital as students are learning informational literacy skills.  Students need to be taught to check ALL sources to determine the validity of information.  Sure, you can find articles about your local high school where students have added lies to the truth.  That leaves a bad taste in your mouth for sure.  However, the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

You cannot beat Wikipedia when you are tracking an event that is occuring now.  For example, the devestating fires in San Diego are spreading.  Take a peek at Wikipedia and learn more about the fires - you can learn way more than watching the news, and the newspaper won't get here until tomorrow morning, and it will be outdated by the time it reaches the mailbox.  There are photos submitted by people living in San Diego just 24 hours apart.  The smoke and soot in the air you see in the photos brings realness to the situation for those, like me, living far away from the fires.   

The first entry was on Oct 21.  Two days later, there are over 500 entries.  You can see what has changed, and that there are folks there checking to make sure the info is accurate. 

Teachers MUST allow students to use Wikipedia!

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