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January 31, 2006

What do you think of Wikis?

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, by now you have at least heard the term ” wiki” and you have probably heard about all the controversy surrounding Wikipedia (kind of an online encyclopedia with articles submitted by the general public). Recently, some inaccurate information was added to a Wikipedia biography and the subject of the biography became very upset, questioned the validity of the entire body of work, and threatened to sue. Then in turn the Dec. 14, 2005 issue of Nature magazine ran an article stating that on scientific topics Wikipedia was as “accurate” as Encyclopedia Britannica.

Wikipedia describes Wikis as follows:
“A wiki : (wee-kee or wick-ey) (according to Ward Cunningham) is a type of website that allows users to easily add and edit content and is especially suited for collaborative writing….The name is based on the Hawaiian term wiki, meaning “quick”, “fast”, or “to hasten” (Hawaiian dictionary). ”

I personally love Wikipedia and adore the concept of individuals collaborating to create a free, easy to access body of knowledge. However, the potential for erroneous information to be disseminated to an unsuspecting public is a significant. The advent of wikis require librarians and teachers to stress the value of “information literacy.” A good article on this topic appeared in the “>
Wikis test students’ research skills
‘Information literacy’ is key in dealing with online sources
By Roger Riddell, Online Editor, eSchool News

“Wikipedia and other reference sites that allow users to submit and edit content themselves are creating new challenges for educators. Experts say the rise of these kinds of web sites underscores the need for educators to teach students strong information-literacy skills…”

Evidently some teacher or librarian successfully instilled this idea in the heads of some young journalists in Minnesota. A 22 year-old, convicted sex offender was pretending to be a teenage member of the British nobility and wanted to enroll in their school. Even though this imposter had created a false entry for himself in Wikipedia, the student reporters unmasked him. The story appears in the Belleville News Democrat...

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/nation/13613746.htm

Claim of royalty, a con revealed
” Joshua Gardner showed up at Stillwater Area High insisting he was a British duke. He had the card, the crest and even the accent. But the student newspaper staff had its doubts — and uncovered an impostor.”
BY ALEX FRIEDRICH and MARY DIVINEPioneer Press …

Skeptical journalism students at Stillwater Area High School helped unmask a convicted sex offender pretending to be a jet-setting, teenage member of British royalty who wanted to enroll at the school.

posted by Anna at 11:07 am |

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