WIKIPedia

I remember using encyclopaedias for many of my primary school projects. There was an encyclopaedia for each letter of the alphabet and it would take so long to find the information I was looking for. But today we have computers and can use WIKIPedia to find the information. WIKIPedia is a free online encyclopaedia which is available and can be edited by anyone who has internet access (Wikipedia, 2009).

As I did not have the internet when I was completing my primary schooling and most of these students will, it can help them in research they carry out. When students are researching a topic using a computer, they can compare WIKIPedia articles to other articles gathered from different search engines. By doing this they will be seeing how the information may be different, as different people have different opinions. Students can then work in groups and share what they have gathered on a certain topic. Students will also be able to look at the history icon to see how quickly the information can change and be updated.

As anyone can edit these WIKIPedia articles it needs to be made sure that the articles the students are searching for will be safe and appropriate for them to read and use in their work. When learning managers are using WIKIPedia, the class can start a new article based on a topic they are studying in the classroom. As students find research they can edit the information on the article inside and outside of the classroom. I used WIKIPedia and searched around for information on 1960 school days. The students have an interest in what school was like in the past and I have been trying to find information to assist to their learning needs. When searching I found the results to be very broad and some irrelevant to what I was searching. I modified what I was searching for and found a useful site to show the students.

- Natalie

Reference List
Wikipedia. (2009). Wikipedia about. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About