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ecocks
Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland
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 Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject: WP is what it is |
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I have picked up English textbooks riddled with inaccurate translations, horrible grammar and poor vocabulary. There are history books which are revised by certain parties to reflect inaccurate or contested information as fact. Occasionally, even math books pop out on the market which have problems worked incorrectly and such.
Referring to the OP, which we sort of lost track of at times here, Wikipedia seems like a pretty cool lesson plan. Getting students engaged to the point where they write and proofread their prose is an exceptionally noteworthy event. If you were teaching a formal academic writing course it strikes me as a GREAT instructional tool since you can mix informative, narrative, argumentative and even persuasive styles in many of the little sub-sections allowing disagreement and perspective. It probably serves as a great springboard for other types of writing as well. Kudos to you for posting up this kind of easily accessed, innovative idea. Maybe more of us will be inspired to come up with something out-of-the-box.
As a source, I find it extremely useful for overviews and locating more authoritative links on particular subjects. When teaching and wanting general background information it is my first choice to familiarize myself on a topic. It is also handy to do a sort of brain map exercise and hop along pathways through history, literature, geography, culture and such. Would I cite it as a source for an essay, project report, thesis or dissertation though? NO WAY!
Last edited by ecocks on Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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I want to go off topic for a while...
...to thank Johnslat for his kind comments. I didn't think of it like that, but I was amazed to find she didn't have an article in WP. She left very few recordings as her professional career was only about 9 years long, but if you want to hear how good she was, go to YouTube and search for her name. There are many videos there. |
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rusmeister
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 867
Location: Russia
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: Re: debate |
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| thelmadatter wrote: |
I dont think there really is a debate here on this thread about using WP (or any other encyclopedia) as a research source... those of us like it and diss it seem to agree that one should NOT use it as a source when writing a paper.... The reason is why. Those of us who like WP, say not to use it for research simply because it is a terciary source... those who diss it seem to (not just on this board but in general) seem to think that by somehow associated with WP, they lower their status as intellectuals simply because articles are written and reviewed by "the masses"...
A bit snobbish, doncha think?
What about as a source just to learn something new for its own sake? How do you feel about using a source like WP for that? |
This is unfair and an example of partisanship that we all have engaged in at times - presenting our own positions reasonably and those who disagree with us as unreasonable. I don't know where the idea of snobbery came from.
This person who uses WP with extreme caution disses it because of its widespread use as a trustworthy source, and because of the point that once again got ignored, which is that the most fanatical side will have its case up on the pages most of the time. |
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Gringo Greg
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 264
Location: Everywhere and nowhere
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:07 am Post subject: |
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I am sure all the mods here and several of the users will understand exactly what I mean. Russmeister is right, but let me explain a bit.
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which is that the most fanatical side will have its case up on the pages most of the time.
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If I want to contribute to Wikipedia, I will put up my information and cite it. If someone disagrees with me then they will delete what I have written. I have a choice, go back in and replace the information or let it go. When you get a fanatical person, the fanatical person will continually delete or change what you have written to keep their side as the official viewpoint. A reasonable person will give up this battle fairly quickly and just let the fanatic go on and on.
Fanatics tend to have nothing better to do than post and post and post on the internet. They do not accept that others have a different viewpoint or even that their facts are incorrect.
They can be found on Wikipedia just as easily as on a thread on a forum. I am sure we have all seen posters who post incessantly about the same thing, repeatedly the same lies over and over again. And they hold to their opinions and lies as if they are facts.
The good thing about a forum is that the forum is usually a smaller niche where moderators understand the topics and they are able to delete and control these posters sometimes called trolls.
Wikipedia is not equipped to handle them and so that bias enters into the just about every article. The only good thing is that the talk page is available and so is the ability to look through past revisions, but how many people, especially students, even bother to look there.
Wikipedia is good for one thing, a place to start off when researching a topic. Go to Google, get the Wikipedia article and a few Google search results and then get some more information to start research in earnest. |
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vinpinman
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 14
Location: Turkey
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Gringo Greg wrote: |
Wikipedia is good for one thing, a place to start off when researching a topic. Go to Google, get the Wikipedia article and a few Google search results and then get some more information to start research in earnest. |
Wikipedia has an unbelievably small number of staff - there's no way they can check verything. For a TEFL alternative...
http://elt.wikia.com/ |
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