From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Introductory Reflections on Wikipedia

I first became aware of Wikipedia when students began referencing the source in their weekly papers. The students are required to participate in a rigorous learning process and the creation of 11 papers within an 11 week timeframe, and increased use of a secondary source like Wikipedia, became a concern. I worried that they would forget about the importance of reading and understanding primary scholarly research. The worries have now been tempered by the following thoughts.

Current research suggests that the process of writing is a powerful source of personal knowledge. Writers who work alone find themselves discovering new things that could not have been found in any other way. Writes who work in groups find new, elevated, levels of group understanding. Wikipedia represents an enormous, worldwide group writing project. Therefore, it likely elevates every participant to a new level of understanding of a wide variety of issues.

Perhaps the encyclopedia that anyone can edit has created a worldwide learning community that addresses the three fundamental activities of the professorate:

• teaching (through collective writing and reading projects)
• research (for those who use it as primarily a source of new personal knowledge)
• service (its free, open participation available to anyone)

Congratulations to Wikipedia for creating this wonderful, innovative resource.