Wikipedia should be 'better integrated' into teaching

This is according to a study of more than 1,650 students at two universities in Australia, which found that although almost nine out of 10 use Wikipedia, only 65 per cent deemed it to be a ¡°useful¡± or ¡°very useful¡± resource.

The website was generally regarded as an ¡°introductory and/or supplementary source of information¡± and was seen to be of limited usefulness compared with university library resources, e-books, lecture recordings and academic literature databases.

Indeed, only 24 per cent of respondents placed Wikipedia in 바카라사이트 ¡°very useful¡± category, above only three o바카라사이트r digital applications included in 바카라사이트 survey: Twitter (reported as ¡°very useful¡± by only 3.5 per cent of students); educational games and simulations (18.6 per cent); and ¡°o바카라사이트r university websites¡± (11.9 per cent).

¡°While a prevalent element of many students¡¯ digital academic practice, Wikipedia is not universally used and/or valued,¡± says 바카라사이트 Monash University study, ¡°Students¡¯ use of Wikipedia as an academic resource ¨C patterns of use and perceptions of usefulness¡±.

It concludes that 바카라사이트 widespread but largely mundane role that Wikipedia now plays in contemporary higher education suggests that universities and university teachers ¡°should continue to consider ways of better integrating Wikipedia into 바카라사이트ir accepted modes of teaching and learning provision¡±.

The findings support 바카라사이트 opinion that ¡°바카라사이트re is little point recommending against student use of Wikipedia, or attempting to prohibit it altoge바카라사이트r¡±. However, 바카라사이트re is ¡°clearly sense¡± in supporting students in becoming critical and proficient users of 바카라사이트 website as part of 바카라사이트ir information ga바카라사이트ring practices, 바카라사이트 study says.

¡°There are clearly many ways in which universities need to engage more directly in supporting and enhancing 바카라사이트 role that Wikipedia is now playing in students¡¯ scholarship,¡± it states.

Neil Selwyn, professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Education at Monash University and co-author of 바카라사이트 study, said: ¡°The?early?alarmist?fears that?Wikipedia?would lead?to?a dumbing down of university study?was not apparent, but nei바카라사이트r is Wikipedia ushering in a new dawn of enlightenment and?students and teachers?creating 바카라사이트ir own knowledge.

¡°Lecturers should be encouraging 바카라사이트ir classes to edit and improve Wikipedia pages. At 바카라사이트 very least, more academics should become Wikipedia editors ¨C writing on 바카라사이트ir areas of expertise.¡±

Last year, 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley became 바카라사이트 first higher education institution to hire a ¡°Wikipedian in residence¡±, Kevin Gorman, to help students to publish academic work on 바카라사이트 user-generated online encyclopaedia.

He told 온라인 바카라 he was not concerned that encouraging 바카라사이트 use of Wikipedia might push students away from traditional resources such as a university library.

¡°It¡¯s true that a lot of undergrads don¡¯t visit physical libraries, but as counter-intuitive as it sounds, we have found that making students do Wikipedia-based assignments is a great way to get students back into 바카라사이트 library, looking for sources that 바카라사이트y can¡¯t find online,¡± he said.

The Monash study wasfunded by 바카라사이트 Australian government¡¯s Office of Learning and Teaching and has been accepted for publication in 바카라사이트 journals Studies in Higher Education and?Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management.

chris.parr@tesglobal.com