Week 5: A Look at Wikipedia and a Response to "What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung

Thoughts on Wikipedia

We live in a world where information is accessible with the push of a button. People can find answers to questions of just about any topic with the use of the Internet. "Wikipedia" may be the most popular online encyclopedia online. The Wikipedia website proclaims itself an online encyclopedia, but there is more than meets the eye in terms of content on the site because absolutely anyone can "update" information about any topic. A student named Virgil Griffith has developed software that tracks the IP addresses of those who edit content on the Wikipedia site. Politicians, Wal-Mart executives, Fox News, and even Al Jazeera members have been traced as editors of Wikipedia. This raises some very pressing questions about the reliability of the website.

If anyone can change anything they want to on Wikipedia, can it be trusted? I say no. The most important aspect when doing research about anything is that all sources of information are from a verified objective expert source. If I were doing research to determine if Wal-Mart was ripping off their employees, I would not expect their C.E.O. to give me the most honest objective answer. Therefore, if said C.E.O. can go on Wikipedia and manipulate any information he or she wants, then Wikipedia is not reliable or objective. While there is some evidence that Virgil Griffith is not actually a Graduate student at Cal-tech, and that his program is "re-inventing the wheel," the fact that information on Wikipedia can be changed by anyone remains a fact. A fact that is VERY troubling for those of us who really care about reliable sources and information.

Response to "What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung

"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung is part of the "At the Teacher's Desk" blog that describes some useful things he learned during his first year teaching. Overall, McClung offers some very thoughtful observations that I think are definitely helpful. I think he made some very good points about how important it is for first year teachers to think more about their students than themselves. No teacher can really be effective if they don't know their students or don't actively communicate with them. McClung also points out that teachers must not only be flexible with lessons, but also be committed to being life long learners. Finally, McClung definitely seems to be a technologically literate educator, and advises that teachers should not treat new technology as some horrifying monster. His article is a fine example of one teacher spreading their knowledge over the information super highway.