will_ Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 It was implied by a senior member of staff today that our pupils should not have access to Wikipedia. (They don't at the moment.) I didn't recover my composure in time to ask why. Does anybody know of any reasons why pupils should not be able to use Wikipedia? I'm in a primary school.
localzuk Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Can't think of a reason really. Much like you wouldn't block them from reading Encyclopaedia Britannica. With a few provisos of course - 1. block editing and 2. make sure your filter is smart enough to block the sexual stuff anyway, based on page content. 2
tom_newton Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Blocking edits is a great idea - stops accidents/stupidity getting you an edit ban for a start
will_ Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 It's not really the edits that concern me (yet) - read access would be a good start!
elsiegee40 Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) I doubt many primary age kids edit wikipedia. TBH, I have few problems with Wikipedia... other than one of educating both pupils and staff that the information MUST be double checked like all information picked up from the internet and from books too I suppose (you should never rely on one source). Wikipedia tell you to double check against a reliable source such as a newspaper... .... I use this story to illustrate the problem Daily Mirror trapped in Wikicirclejerk ? The Register Edited February 1, 2012 by elsiegee40 added the bit in italics
localzuk Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I doubt many primary age kids edit wikipedia. TBH, I have few problems with Wikipedia... other than one of educating both pupils and staff that the information MUST be double checked. Wikipedia tell you to double check against a reliable source such as a newspaper... .... I use this story to illustrate the problem Daily Mirror trapped in Wikicirclejerk ? The Register True, things like that happen, but then as has been shown by Nature's study, Wikipedia is as accurate as the EB I mentioned. Checking sources is a key skill that needs to be taught to all - as it stands, many schools just go by what text books say, and I remember finding numerous errors in my books at school.
glennda Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 TBH as good as Wikipedia is it shouldn't be trusted as gospel as it can so easily be edited.
sonofsanta Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 It's a damn sight better than Yahoo! Answers though. I die a little inside every time I'm asked to unblock a page there. As far as Wikipedia goes, it's great for getting a high-level abstract of any idea/topic, and providing links to further material. It's not a destination for knowledge, more like a guide book. Edits should definitely be blocked for timewasting, though. I've done it with a regex in Smoothwall, if anyone wants.
elsiegee40 Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 oooh... I like Yahoo Answers. I enjoy answering the "How can I get to facebook in school" questions by pointing out that a public forum is a brilliant place to ask this, it shows great imagination and intelligence, and that as a school network manager I'll be blocking anything new I see as will all my colleagues in other schools and colleges who are also reading Yahoo Answers. If I can be bothered, I then explain how most schools have tracking as well as filtering so they can see who has used which proxy. I then finish with "Can you be sure I'm not your school's network manager?" 1
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