The Website-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named: Using Wikipedia to Teach Information

Literacy Ilka Datig

Instruction & Electronic Services LibrarianMary Baldwin College

What was the most controversial Wikipedia entry in 2010, according

to number of footnotes?

Organization• Introduction

o Why we should use Wikipedia

• Examples of classroom activitieso Background information/brainstorming a topico Evaluating credibilityo Citations/References/Bibliographyo Information production

• Further reading• Q & A

Why are we so scared?

Ubiquity• 6th most popular website in 2011 (Alexa)• Project Information Literacy:

o 84% use for information-gathering for course-related research (Head & Eisenberg, 2009)

• SOPA Blackouto “Oh. My. God. As soon as I need wikipedia for

homework, it suddenly is ‘shut down’. I HATE YOU WIKIPEDIA” (Tsukayama, 2012)

Class activities• My experience: one-credit Information Literacy

courses• One-shot sessions – I’d love to hear your advice!

Using W to find background information

Using W to find background information

• Find and examine a page• Find and examine an entry from a published

reference source (we use Credo Reference)• Compare!

Using W to find background information

• “This article differs from the wiki article in that 1.) there is significantly more information offered on the subject and consequently 2.) many more references which makes the information much more credible”

• “In this article, there were more detailed graphs and back-up information to support the topic.”

• “This article differed from the wiki document in that it had empirical data, and a longer list of references. Wikipedia was more appealing to the reader's eye, e.g. there were colorful pictures of generated structures of different biomolecules.”

Using W to find background information

• Concept Map• Create a list of keywords

Using W to find background information

• ACRL Standard Oneo “The information literate student determines the nature and extent of

the information needed” (ACRL, 2000)

• ‘Summarizations and not actual research’ (Jennings, 2008, p. 435)

Evaluating Credibility

Evaluating Credibility• Edit History• Controversial topics (some you wouldn’t

expect!)

Evaluating Credibility

Evaluating Credibility

Evaluating Credibility

Evaluating Credibility• “Wikiality”?• Make an edit and see what sticks• ACRL Standard 3:

o “The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.”

Citations/References/Bibliography

Citations/References/Bibliography

• Identify the type of source

Citations/References/Bibliography

• Follow linked sources • Explain how to find non-linked sources• ACRL Standard 2:

o “The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.”

Citations/References/Bibliography

• Evaluate the sourceso Provide a checklist OR let students generate one

• ACRL Standard 3: o “The information literate student evaluates information and its sources

critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.”

Information Production

Information Production

• Edit an articleo Stubs

• Create an article• Synthesize sources

o ACRL Standard 4: “The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.”

Information Production

• Troubleshootingo Some HTML knowledge is handyo Watch out for editors!

• Long-termo Contribute to the Community Portalo Harness local knowledge!

Further Reading• Baker, Sarah. “A Place for Wikipedia or Putting

Wikipedia in its Place.” New Horizons for Learning. Winter (2012): n.p. Web. 21 September 2012.

• Head, Alison & Eisenberg, Michael. “How Today’s College Students Use Wikipedia for Course-Related Research.” First Monday 15.3 (2010): n.p. Web. 21 September 2012.

• Jennings, Eric. 2008. “Using Wikipedia to Teach Information Literacy.” College & Undergraduate Libraries. 15(4):432-437. Print.

Further Reading• Kraft, Michelle. “College Students Use of

Wikipedia for Course Related Research”. The Krafty Librarian. N.p. 24 March 2010. Web. 21 September 2012.

• Lorenzen, Michael. “Teaching with Wikipedia.” The Information Literacy Land of Confusion. N.p. 15 February 2008. Web. 21 September 2012.

• Ludwig, Sarah. “Letting Go of Boolean Operators: Rethinking How Research Is Taught in Schools.” TechSource. ALA. 2 July 2012. Web. 21 September 2012.

Citations• Most controversial Wikipedia entries in 2010 (by

number of footnotes): http://www.deseretnews.com/top/97/0/10-controversial-Wikipedia-topics.html

• An Open Letter to Wikipedia by Philip Roth: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/09/an-open-letter-to-wikipedia.html#ixzz25nx4uGsB

• Head & Eisenberg’s study of how college students seek info: http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2009_Year1Report_12_2009.pdf

Citations• List of most popular websites by Alexa:

http://www.alexa.com/topsites • Student reaction to SOPA blackout by Tsukuyama:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/no-wiki-sopa-blackout-has-students-hitting-the-panic-button/2012/01/18/gIQAlS4Z8P_story.html

• ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

Wikipedia• Helpful Wikipedia Links

o Manual of style: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style o Information on stubs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Stub o Community portal: http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal

Image credits• 4eleven images @ Flickr• Ben Oh @ Flickr• Auntie P @ Flickr

Questions?

Slideshare: The Website-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named: Using Wikipedia to Teach Information Literacy

idatig@mbc.edu