Students Should Use Wikipedia?

[oROEchimaru]

if your in college wikipedia can often help you pass online tests and exams:

this is what i did:
open test (d2l) in tab 1:
open google in tab 2:
open wikipedia in tab 3:

if a question is like "who won the revolutionary war"

you can look at several locations.. find a few matches with similar answers and then chose the right multiple choice answer on your test lol. i must of got B's/A's on many non-essential classes by doing this, allowing me to focus on my coursework.

 

[Ashtaka]

if your in college wikipedia can often help you pass online tests and exams:
non-essential classes by doing this, allowing me to focus on my coursework.

I guess English is one of those non-essential classes?

When I was taking Music Lit for FA majors, it was -all- essay questions done in a classroom. I remember quite a few times when I sat there, flipped through the three pages of essay questions, and then turned it in... blank.

Being lazy in college will come back and bite you in the ass eventually.

 

[bob]

Wikipedia is a great resource but we all know it can be horribly inaccurate as well. I personally think you should use Wikipedia at your own risk and it isn’t the smartest thing to use for schoolwork….not when your grades are riding on it.

Well, the same goes for any printed material. Just because its a mildew-encrusted book sitting on a library shelf, doesnt mean it should be (only) used and trusted either. Ive seen enough printed books with incorrect, or just plain bullshit information. Im not saying that wiki is on the same level as any book, but that only an idiot would use one reference-source for any schoolwork, or other work that matters. The thing about wiki, being on the internet, any person can edit/change/add information anonymously.

Though with that said, if your looking for quick, half-assed information about a topic, wiki is the way to go.

 

[Banko]

I never used Wikipedia for papers, however when it comes to Math, or some CS Theory and my book sucks at explaining something Wikipedia is great.

 

[S-B]

I never used Wikipedia for papers, however when it comes to Math, or some CS Theory and my book sucks at explaining something Wikipedia is great.

I normally don't, but QFT. For the sciences (both natural and otherwise), Wikipedia is quite possibly the greatest resource around. But you still need to cite souces on science papers; luckily, important science articles on Wikipedia are usually well-referenced.

 

[calyth]

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, says that students should use his site and that teachers that block access to the site are “bad educators.” This is a complete turn around from what he said two years ago that students “deserved an F” for using Wikipedia.

I don't see this as complete turnaround. I see that teachers that block access to wikipedia are bad educators - namely they should teach the students to realize that Wikipedia is an unreliable source of information. Although it is sufficient for most casual conversations, it simply should not be used in any sort of papers. Students who use wikipedia in papers shows that they did not do their research, and deserves an F.

The problem is citing wikipedia, not perusing it.

 

[RussianHAXOR]

Honestly I use it as a start to when i work on papers, even some of my professors now agree with this, they just recommend not using it as a source, only as a guide.

yeah my usage is very similar. I use the links provided for most of my citations as well as extra research. And i always validate any info i get from wikipedia with another source.