As
far as using Wikipedia as liable sources for research that I am conducting I
would have to say that is a negative, I do not use it as a reliable source nor
do I use it when I am teaching my students. I have never really been a fan of Wikipedia because
all through my educational years all of my teachers always instilled it in my
head that Wikipedia was not a reliable source, and is considered to have bias
opinions towards different issues. Dr. Siko mentions that anyone including
myself can upload things to Wikipedia, I’m sure some individuals have strong
views on a topic and will write what they believe and then you have some people
who would never even think to upload something.
With that being said I would not let my students use Wikipedia as a valuable
sources, I will remind students that if they find something on Wikipedia they
will have to verify this information through a liable source to make sure this
information is reliable.
I
must say I am a huge fan of YouTube and use it on a daily basis inside and out
of the classroom, although I do not use it when conducting a research projects
I use it more as a guide to what I already know. Anyone can post videos on YouTube that’s right
but before I play a video to my students I watch the video to make sure what I
am trying to teach them is accurate and appropriate. When working with Pre-K
students it’s very important to use visuals and I feel as if YouTube does just
that for me, also when teaching my students letter sounds and numbers YouTube
have many educational videos that teach just that. I wouldn’t mind if my students used YouTube as
guide for the research they are conducting, it could be a good recourse for
them. Also, I encourage my students to watch these educational songs with their
parents are home, students love singing and following along and these videos on
YouTube allow them to do just that.
How do you feel about Wikipedia being a good starting point for a student to research or should they just avoid it all together? I also wonder, do you think that because it CAN be edited by anyone it may at least sometimes be more reliable than an uneditable source?
ReplyDeleteI do feel as if it is a good starting point as long as they are not making it the only reliable source, it is important for them to look deeper and make sure that information is valid. I actually never knew that you were allowed to change someones work on Wiki. With that being said it that kinda makes me more worried because anyone can write whatever they want on someones page, because its not representing their name.
DeleteI thought the same when I responded to this blog a few semesters ago but I now see it from another side. Just because a wiki can be edited, doesn't mean it will be. What makes me more nervous is a resource that cannot be corrected by others. Who's to say the author of the article is correct in all that they say? There's another reason that we need to teach students to fact check and cross check all information :)
DeleteI feel like even when I find something that is a scholarly article I still always look up other artciles to make sure I have another support in making up my research. I feel as if it is very important to check for facts and Wiki would be a great starting point.
DeleteI think it is interesting that you mentioned never using YouTube as a source for a research project. I hadn't even thought about using it that way which is weird since it is the first place I look for information (most of the time). I am a little nervous about giving my students an assignment with YouTube as a possible source because, it may lead them to inappropriate information. However, Matt just informed me of a site called TubeChop where you can select parts of YouTube videos to show your students. I just checked it out and I am pretty excited about using it.
ReplyDeleteDragontape is also an amazing tool to use with youtube. It allows you to create a "mix tape" of different youtube videos in minutes. If you really want to see an AMAZING blog/educational tool, go to teachertricks.org. you can spend hours going through Mr. Mays' ideas!
DeleteThank you! I will check out both of these sites. I absolutely love to hear about things like this :) Have you used either of them as an assignment for your students?
DeleteYes, its kinda nerve wrecking giving students an assignment using YouTube when they are so young because you never know what could pop up. I've also used Choptube and its an amazing feature to use I would really recommend it when working in the education field because you never know what could pop up even if they are older, now a days I feel as if teachers are getting in trouble for everything. I've never heard of or used Dragon-tape I will have to check that out though, I feel like that would even be a good assignment for students to do. Thank you for that Victoria :)
DeleteI feel like YouTube projects would be safer with high school students. Maybe, I am just paranoid. I am interested to see what the student projects will be at MACUL. I will let you know if I see any YouTube assignments for lower grades. Sometimes it helps to see how others are making things happen.
DeleteIt depends on what you're using the video for in a research paper. If you're showing examples, then it's suitable and you should cite accordingly. If you're using a video as evidence, it depends. Where did the video's creators get their information. Do they list it? If they do, then perhaps we should go to the original source. If it's a news broadcast, is there a comparable print version of the same news?
ReplyDelete