Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, with over 3 million English articles as of July 2010. It has a simple interface and covers topics from multiple perspectives globally. While some criticize its open editing model, it has processes to ensure information is verifiable and from a neutral point of view, with over 1500 administrators monitoring content. Educators and librarians are increasingly using Wikipedia for assignments and instruction to teach information and digital literacy skills.

1. What’s So Good About Wikipedia?Laura WilsonReference LibrarianFramingham State CollegeJuly 14, 2010

2. Wikipedia : The BasicsFree online encyclopedia!No login required, anyone can access the information provided Coverage rangeIncludes 3,349,000+ English language articles (as of July 13, 2010)CurrencyArticles can be edited immediately, providing the most recent information available

3. Wikipedia : The BasicsSimple, user-friendly layoutEasy to navigateAvailable in many languagesLinks to additional info, source citations, suggestions for further readingEach article has a discussion page and historyYou can view when changes were made to the page, and any discussion about those changes

4. Wikipedia : The BasicsMost text and many images are under Creative Commons & GNU Free Documentation LicenseCan freely distribute and reproduce contentMany contributors from all over the worldNearly 12,700,000 registered users (as of 7/13/2010)Anyone can contribute and edit reduces cultural bias Hosted by Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization

5. Wikipedia’s Bad ReputationWhy does Wikipedia have a bad reputation?

6. Wikipedia’s Bad ReputationAnyone can write / edit an articleNot “scholarly”Vandalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bad_Jokes_and_Other_Deleted_Nonsensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Most_vandalized_pages

7. Wikipedia Has StandardsInformation provided must cite verifiable, published sourcesParticularly if someone disputes presented informationIf disputed information is not cited, it will be deletedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/DisputesArticles must not present original researchAll articles must be written from a neutral point of view

8. Wikipedia Has StandardsOver 1,500 administrators (as of 7/13/2010)Mediators in content disputesDelete articlesBlock vandals accounts / IP addressesProtect vandalized articles from further editsWikipedia explicitly states that not all content is valid³Advises to be “wary of one single source” and to “check references”

9. Wikipedia and EducatorsProfessors have created assignments for students based on Wikipedia Edit existing articlesCreate new articles Discuss strengths and weaknesses of existing articles on a topic relative to the courseCover course content and information literacyContribute / edit content themselvesAdd scholarly information of experts

10. Wikipedia and LibrariansUse Wikipedia in library instruction sessions to teach information literacyHave students evaluate good and bad aspects of particular articlesContribute / edit informationMore scholarly environmentAdd relevant external links to library homepage / collectionsMeet the users where they are ª

11. Sister Projects of WikipediaHosted by the Wikimedia FoundationWikiversity: Free learning materials & activities for all levels (pre-school – university, professional development)Wikimedia Commons: freely usable multimedia filesWikiquote: “free quote compendium”Wikitionary: free content, multilingual dictionaryWikibooks: open content textbooks / booksWikinews: free news sourceWikispecies: free species directory

12. “We know from history that prohibition is not a viable means to control consumption of “bad” things. This is especially the case for Wikipedia if information professionals are sneakily using it themselves. Like the 1930s war on alcohol, a ban on Wikipedia would mean far more losses than gains.” – William Badke, Trinity Western University¹

13. Works Cited²Badke, William. (2008). What to Do with Wikipedia. Infolitland, 32:2. Retrieved from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/ª Pressley, Lauren and McCallum, Carolyn J. (2008). Putting the library in Wikipedia. Online 32:5. Retrieved from: www.infotoday.com/online/sep08/Pressley_McCallum.shtml¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability³ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia

14. Suggested ReadingBroughton, John. (2008). Wikipedia: The missing manual. Beijing; Cambridge: O’Reilly.Lally, Ann M. and Dunford, Carolyn E. (2007). Using Wikipedia to extend digital collections. D-Lib Magazine 13:5/6. Pollard, Elizabeth Ann. (2008). Raising the stakes: Writing about witchcraft on Wikipedia. History Teacher 42:1.