Dr. Brian Housand
On:
How
I Learned
To
Stop http://brianho
Worrying
NCAGT usand.
And
3/26/2009 googlepages.
Love
The com
Wikipedia

brianhousand
.googlepages
.com
1,000
-T
Housand

Techie Educator
Gifted Researcher

How a ragtag band created Wikipedia

\"the sum of all human knowledge\"

It’s the first place I go when I am
looking for knowledge, or I want to
create some.
Stephen Colbert

Rather than running the risk of
having our students become
\"walking encyclopedias,\" we
need to teach them how to
think creatively.
(Sternberg, 2006)

Knowledge alone is NOT enough.

What’s Ahead…
• Wikipedia on Wikipedia
• New Literacies
• 10 ideas for using
Wikipedia

The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
1. Wikipedia is
an encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
2. Wikipedia
must have a
neutral point of
view.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
3. Wikipedia is
free content that
anyone may edit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
4. Wikipedia has
a Code of
Conduct.
Civility / Maturity / Responsibility
Respect your fellow Wikipedians!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

The Five Pillars of Wikipedia
5. Wikipedia
does not have
firm rules
besides the five
pillars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

General Disclaimer
WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO
GUARANTEE OF
VALIDITY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

What Wikipedia is NOT
 A paper encyclopedia  A guidebook
 A dictionary  A textbook
 A publisher of original  A crystal ball
thought
 A list of FAQs, plot
 A soapbox summaries, lyrics, statisti
cs, or news reports
 A repository of links
 Censored
 A directory
 A manual
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NOT

WHO ARE THESE Wikipedians?
Wikipedians are people who write and
edit the pages for Wikipedia.
Anyone can be a Wikipedian -- including
you. Just click the edit link at the top of
any page.
Currently, 9.2 million+ named accounts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedians

This is where the REAL
Who said
information is.
what and
when.
This is as far as Your chance to share
most people get. your knowledge.

Researching With Wikipedia
You should not use only
Wikipedia for primary research
(unless you are writing a paper
about Wikipedia).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia

Researching With Wikipedia
Always be wary of any one
single source
Encyclopedias are secondary
sources
Check references
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia

Searching
For Truth With
Triangulation

Featured Content
The BEST that Wikipedia has to offer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Featured_content

Grading
Scheme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Grading_scheme

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Our_projects

Alternatives To Wikipedia
Citizendium
Knol from Google
Encarta
Encyclopedia Britannica Online

http://schools-
wikipedia.org/

What are
New
Literacies?
(Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack, 2004)

IDENTIFY
Important
Questions

LOCATE
Information

CRITICALLY
EVALUATE
Information

SYNTHESIZE
Information

COMMUNICATE
Answers

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

+
5 Types of Evaluation
Understanding
1.
Relevancy
2.
Accuracy
3.
Reliability
4.
Bias
5.
(Coiro, 2006)

Ten Ideas for Using
WIKIPEDIA

1. WIKIPEDIA ON TRIAL
• Determine the \"crime\" first by having the
group generate a list of reasons why
Wikipedia might be on trial.
• Students play the roles of prosecutors,
defense attorneys, jury members, witnesses,
and the judge.

2. EVALUATE
Create an evaluation tool for
examining the quality of a
Wikipedia entry.

3. Socratic Seminar
CONSIDER:
•How is Wikipedia an example of Collective
Knowledge?
•What qualifies a person as an \"expert\" - in Wikipedia
and in life?
•What hidden purposes might there be for putting
information in Wikipedia? Are they ethical?

4. Wikipedia:Portal
Portals are pages intended to serve as \"Main
Pages\" for specific topics or areas.
They are meant for both readers and editors
of Wikipedia, and should promote content
and encourage contribution.

5. Expanding a Stub
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting/Stub_types

6. Debate A Wikipedia Policy
Using formal debate rules, hold a
debate on creating a school policy
for or against the use of Wikipedia in
school research.

Compare
7. Encyclopedias
Traditional Paper Encyclopedias
Citizendium
Knol from Google
Encarta
Encyclopedia Britannica Online

8. Find Inaccurate Information
Challenge students to right the wrongs of
the Wikipedia.
However, do not encourage them to “write”
the wrongs of Wikipedia.

9. Track History
View the history of an article when events
of historical nature are taking place to see
how quickly the entry is updated.

10. Create / Edit
Create / Edit the Wikipedia entry for your
School, Community, or Organization

Critical Responsible
Consumers Producers

+
The Less You Share,
The Less Power You Have.

One thing is
clear. We don’t
have the option
of turning away
from the future.
No one gets to
vote on whether
technology is
going to change
our lives.
Bill Gates
The Road Ahead

THEIR STUDENTS AND WITH
COLLEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD.
TODAY IT IS LESS ABOUT STAYING AHEAD
AND MORE ABOUT MOVING AHEAD AS
MEMBERS OF DYNAMIC LEARNING
COMMUNITIES. THE DIGITAL-AGE
TEACHING PROFESSIONAL MUST
DEMONSTRATE A VISION OF
TECHNOLOGY INFUSION AND DEVELOP
THE TECHNOLOGY SKILLS OF OTHERS.
THESE ARE THE HALLMARKS OF THE
NEW EDUCATION LEADER.”
—Don Knezek, ISTE CEO, 2008

The illiterate of
the 21st Century
will not be those
who cannot read
or write,
but those who cannot
LEARN, UNLEARN AND
RELEARN.

The Future Is NOW!

tyvm
brianhousand.googlepages.com