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...