Student should not be allowed to use Wikipedia

Phoebe
EAP2 WW
Mr. Leverett
Practice Final
April 24, 2008

Student should not be allowed to use Wikipedia

Nowadays, academia has begun to debate whether students should be allowed or encouraged to use or cite Wikipedia. The reasons are Wikipedia has collected the combined wisdom of the masses, it does not have a statement of authorities; the Internet will never be like the school library, and it can bring lots of problems for students; Internet vandalism could influence the articles easily. Therefore, some prestigious colleges have banned Wikipedia; according to Byers (2007) “Middlebury College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Vermont, recently announced that its history department had banned the citation of Wikipedia for history paper and exams” (para. 1). Should students be allowed to use Wikipedia? The answer is no. Students are supposed to use or cite some Web sources that are approved by qualified authorities. Students should not be allowed to cite Wikipedia.

Because Wikipedia is already the ninth most popular Web site in US, if Wikipedia’ s available information is not necessarily accurate, students’ would get the wrong information. Therefore, students should avoid Wikipedia in order to learn the correct information that has no risk. First, Wikipedia has collected the combined wisdom of the masses, but it does not have a statement of authorities. Second the Internet will never like the school library and it can bring lots of problems for students. Finally, Internet vandalism could influence the articles easily.

First, Wikipedia has collected the combined wisdom of the masses, but it does not have a statement of authorities. In “Wikipedia Wisdom” (Wolverton, 2007) the author states that Wikipedia users can add, or remove information without signing, so when people visit Wikipedia, they just get the available information that does not have the author’s name and is just for free. Everyone can put anything on Wikipedia at anytime but no one monitors the Web; therefore, the available information is not accurate that can influence students’ thinking.

Moreover, the Internet is not like the school library, and it can bring lots of problems for students. According to Lengel (2006), “The Internet will never be like the school library. Nor should it be. Its value as a communication medium lies in its openness and diversity. But these same aspects make it problematic for our students” (para. 12). In “Teaching with Technology” Lengel (2000) tells us that we trust a library book, newspaper, or television; these kinds of media can be respectable authorities.

Third, Internet vandalism could influence the articles easily. According to Wolverton (2007), “The argument amongst scholars is that the information available on Wikipedia is not necessarily accurate and that the articles themselves are particularly susceptible to Internet vandalism” (para. 11). This is because Wikipedia articles can be written by anyone at anytime, bringing the risk of providing the information from outside academia. In addition, if everyone can change the article, Internet vandalism would be the most difficult problem to solve.

In conclusion, it is very clear that the citation of Wikipedia should be banned for students. Therefore, when Wikipedia collected the combined wisdom of the masses, a statement of authorities is necessary; the Internet information should be correct and be a part of well-mediated system; people who lead to Internet vandalism should be punished.

Reference

Byers, M. (2007, March 8). Controversy over use of Wikipedia in academic papers arrives at Smith, Sophian, Smith College. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2007/03/08/Newa/Controversy.Over.Use.Of.Wikipedia.In.Academic.Papers.Arrives.At.Smith2765409.shtml

Lengel, J. (2006, Feb 7). Authority, Teaching with Technology. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/article.shtml?ID=12

Wolverton, J. (2007, Jan 22). Wikipedia Wisdom, Valley Vanguard. Retrieved on April 23, 2008, from http://www.svsu.edu/clubs/vanguard/stories/1141