Wikipedia

1. How often do you use Wikipedia for research? Where do you usually start for researching a topic?

I use Wikipedia for research quite often. Actually, almost every time I'm curious about a subject I look it up on Wikipedia. Interestingly, even if Wikipedia wasn't the first place I looked when I was curious about something, it is usually one of the first links that comes up through a google search. As the article mentioned, it's hard to avoid Wikipedia even if one wants to because it is so up-to-date on the current issues.

I let myself use Wikipedia freely when I just want to get an overview of a subject because it often has the most current information and thus works as a great starting point. However, as I become more serious about a subject I move onto more verifiable and traditional sources.

2. As a teacher, would you accept Wikipedia as a resource that your students can quote in their research? How does the article support/negates your idea of what to do with students?

At this point my position is that I will let a student use Wikipedia as long as they test that particular page with a credibility rubric and don't use it as their primary source. They should have at least four other traditional sources to balance the Wikipedia source.

3. What would your policy be surrounding internet research?
I think starting out with instructions on how to verify sources is really important particularly in regard to the internet. I would spend a substantial amount of time going through worksheets like the credibility worksheet in this class. It would be a priority to teach kids the skills to discern between credible sources and questionable sources.