Wikipedia again

Wikipedia makes the news again in this article in the Times.

I thought the days of the 'information superhighway' silliness, when people predicted that the internet was going to replace all the libraries and be the answer to everything, had been left behind back in the 1990's. Apparantly not. It's doesn't help that the other camp seem equally keen to say that everything web based is rubbish and should be banned.

Surprisingly enough the internet is just like anything else, a mix of the good, the slightly dodgy and the downright bad. Education, surely, ought to prepare people to tell the difference.

Another approach to Wikipedia

Having blogged about Jimmy Wales saying it isn't a good idea to cite Wikipedia, and about the US college that said the same thing, it was interesting to see an alternative approach being taken by a UK university. This BBC article describes how postgraduates are being required to write Wikipedia entries and updates as a way of developing their research skills.

Don't cite wikipedia: 2.

There's been another kerfuffle in the library blogosphere lately about Wikipedia. (What do you mean, you hadn't noticed?)

This article from the Guardian started it with it's report that a College in Vermont has 'banned students from citing Wikipedia'. In fact, as you read on, you discover that they were not saying that students shouldn't use Wikipedia, but that while Wikipedia may be a useful source, it should not be regarded as authoritative, and so should not be cited.

I did like the alternative suggested, of getting all students to take an introductory course in scepticism.

Don't cite Wikipedia!

Who says you shouldn't cite Wikipedia? The founder of Wikipedia, no less. In fact he suggests it's not a good idea to cite encyclopedias at all. Read the full story in Business Week online.