Comments on: Why the Many are smarter than the Few

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:58:16 +0000

Hehe, I’ve had that EXACT same conversation with my own two kids.

I was pleased to hear my daughter tell me the other day what happened when one of her teachers chided her for using Wikipedia in class. Kate challenged the teacher about her lack understanding of Wikipedia and explained to this teacher why it was much more reliable than she gave it credit for… that’s my girl.

By: Sharon Cataldo

Sharon Cataldo — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:06:46 +0000

Hi Chris-
Just catching up on some school holiday reading and I’ve got to say I loved this blog – when I recently suggested that my 12 year old check something in Wikipedia for a school assignment as a quick first point of reference – both he and my 15 year old daughter said in horror “Mum we aren’t allowed to use it for school stuff” “Why not?” I asked (mentally predicting what the answer would be) – “It’s not reliable!” Prediction confirmed!
I then spent half an hour or so explaining that of course that it should not be the only source of information, yes it can be vandalised etc etc in mother preaching mode basically listing for them the arguments in your article – just much less eloquently. Of course children don’t believe their mothers(even if they are a teacher-librarian at another school) and they remained unconvinced so the next time this debate comes up – and I’m sure it will – I will be referencing this blog!

By: Rhondda

Rhondda — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:48:37 +0000

I have been teaching students about researching techniques (for many years) and so now when Wikipedia is mentioned in class quite a number of students quote “that you can’t use it”. I surprise them when I explain that it an be a valid research tool. Like you, I explain the potential for mistakes (or misuse by some) but that these mistakes are often picked up due to the sheer number of people using and editing Wikipedia. I also stress (as I have always done) that you always need to validate or check on the authority of the information found. It is easier to teach the kids about using more than one source for gathering any information because of all the discussion about the value of Wikipedia. They are finally beginning to develop a greater understanding of biases etc. and it is due to Wikipedia

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:36:36 +0000

Thanks Sinikka, glad you found the post of use. I’m trying to use Wikis a lot more at my school for policay development… it just makes more sense.

Thanks for the feedback.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:35:08 +0000

“The force of your essay is reduced” because I loosely used the term founder? So, let me get this straight… because Larry Sanger raises concerns about being left out of the early history of Wikipedia, my “essay” carries less weight? Oh grow up!

Firstly, Jimbo Wales IS a founder of Wikipedia… he may not, as it turns out, be the only founder, but he most certainly was one of them. So my use of the word “founder” to describe him, while perhaps not telling the full story, is not incorrect and hardly grounds to dismiss the value of the rest of the blog post. (By the way, while we’re splitting hairs, it’s a blog post not an essay)

Thanks for pointing out the letter from Larry (viewable at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:George_The_Dragon/Larry_Sanger%27s_Open_Letter_To_Jimmy_Wales) but all that aside, do you really think that this fact changes “the force of my essay”.

By: Gregory Kohs

Gregory Kohs — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:29:56 +0000

The force of your essay is reduced the moment you incorrectly call Jimmy Wales the “founder” of Wikipedia. Search the Internet for Larry Sanger’s recent “open letter” to Jimbo Wales. Read and learn.

By: sinikka

sinikka — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:24:14 +0000

Hi Chris
Thank you so much for this article! I am so happy I came across it today. I must admit that as a teacher I have sometimes been a bit apprehensive about the validity of Wikipedia as a source of information, and whether students should use it at all. The essence, of course, as you rightly point out, is being critical about ANY source of information, and discussing this with students.

I will definitely refer my students to your blog post to get an insightful and informative dose of what Wikipedia is all about (I certainly learned a lot myself reading your post!). I am also thinking of asking my colleagues to read it, since I and a couple of other teachers are trying to convince the rest to set up a school wiki for democratic school development. The gradual editing process and sharing the knowledge and insights of all those involved sounds much better than the traditional separate committees with only a few members. Your post might change the minds of some of my colleagues, the majority of whom seem to be highly doubtful about the value of wiki-style discussions / decision-making. What you wrote about finding concensus of truth and the importance of diversity of viewpoints is especially valid here, let alone the saved time from sitting at meetings, when colleagues could (ideally!) participate in the discussions, editing, debating etc. when most convenient.