What's The Deal with Wikipedia?

    Flash back to 12 year old me, in grade 7, getting most of my information from Wikipedia for my school projects. I used Wikipedia throughout high school from what I can remember. Then when I got to university, Wikipedia became the 'big bag wolf' and we were told not to use it in our research or papers because it is not a reliable or credible source. This belief held true for the remainder of my education. Today, when I am teaching my young learners research skills, I specifically tell them not to go on or use Wikipedia for the same reasons I was told, except in grade 2 language, "anyone can contribute, so the information may not always be true or accurate." When students ask me why they shouldn't use the site, it's hard to argue with "but it's the first one that popped up, see it's at the top." They are not wrong, Wikipedia is at the top or upper right side on most searches.  I still use Wikipedia casually, and as long as students are not looking at the screen, I will use Wikipedia to find information or help me answer one of their inquiries. I have no problem using it for my own use when I want to look something up. 

    I always thought it was a shame too, because sometimes the information I am looking for can only be found on Wikipedia. Wikipedia has some great pages and their information is categorized into logical topics with relevant visuals. The information appears reliable. I think it would be helpful for my students to explore a user-friendly, organized webpage, but I don't want my students to use a source that may mislead them or may not be appropriate for them. 

I never understood the point of Wikipedia or why people use it if it's not a reliable source. What's the purpose? Why does it exist? 

    This week, I was surprised when I saw Wikipedia in my readings. I learned the term "produsage" and "produsers" and I learned the collaborative and community-based characteristics and valuable capabilities of produsage. It was the first time Wikipedia had come up in my education that wasn't in a negative light or accompanied by a "Do Not Use" warning. Now I wonder, if I am the one who is misleading my little learners, not Wikipedia?  Have I been been wrong about Wikipedia? Did I miss an opportunity to teach about community-based and collaborative contributions to a changing artefact to my own students? 

So, what's the deal with Wikipedia? 

    Funny enough, as I began searching,  the page that appeared first was a Wikipedia page on why Wikipedia is not a reliable source. I also stumbled upon The Top 10 Reasons Students Cannot Cite or Rely On Wikipedia, which confirms my initial views. Wikipedia can be vandalized with inappropriate content, there is no way of knowing who wrote the information and sometimes, secondary sources are not always used. Some aspects I did not consider is that contributors may have personal agendas,  accurate contributors can be silenced and there tends to be little diversity among editors.

  

  So, perhaps Wikipedia is not the best example of produsage to share in an elementary classroom space. However, I think Wikipedia is best used for how I currently use it, quick reference of a general overview of a topic or links to find other sources. Wikipedia is quick information, the kind that a teacher needs when a learner asks those "out of the blue" but beautifully curious questions that I simply don't know the answer to.