wikipedia

Since it's beginning, Wikipedia has had its share of controversy. From accusations of false information, to biased editing by big businesses and even Wikepedia themselves, to the continuing debate among educators and students on Wikipedia's relevance and validity as a legitimate source for information. This last issue is the one that I would like to focus on as it affects me the most. The main problem is that the majority of teachers don't recognize Wikipedia as a strong enough source for students to reference in their school work. The fact of the matter, however, is that the majority of students would classify it as one of the main sites they access first in order to get information on a topic. Wikipedia's limitless list of topics and adjoining paragraphs about each topic offer students a one-stop place to get the basic information on just about any subject quickly. Because of it's supreme convenience, many students would prefer to be able to use it as a source in their papers.

Although some teachers are slowly relaxing their strict restrictions on using Wikipedia as a source, this trend has not yet gained much prominence (at least not at Fordham). I think that over time, students will be allowed to cite Wikipedia as a source as there are many changes occurring within the corporation. Executives at Wikipedia have altered the site in such a way that the information is checked regularly for bias and falsity. Because of this Wikipedia is more accurate than ever. It would make life so much easier if Wikipedia was considered a valid academic source by educators.

click here to see Wikipedia's page on itself.