Even though Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia that provides a summary about a topic, has some value, particularly for leading students to citable sources, it cannot be considered as an end-all and be-all.[break] In fact, students need to use it with caution and check whether or not the cited data and facts are correct.
And, if students keep on researching about something time and again, definitely their mental horizons would expand.
Rajani Maharjan, a student of bachelor second year at Golden Gate College, says, "I am glad that we can use Wikipedia as a source to refer to throughout our course and if a topic sparks our interest in class, it could be a very good site to go for more information."
She also mentions that students need to be a little bit skeptical of the information in Wikipedia as it comes from everywhere and everyone.
"Perhaps the awareness of the need for skepticism is one of Wikipedia´s greatest gifts," Maharjan shares adding, "The use of Wikipedia can develop students´ critical thinking, research and writing skills."
Needless to say, many students are indeed Wikipedia users; many use the site for background information, for its summaries and other descriptions.
"The site is great for a nutshell version of information, but for deeply-cited and demonstrable data, it´s best to go elsewhere as well," utters Sabita Rajopadhyaya, teacher of Jesis Secondary School at Indrayani, Bhaktapur.
She stresses on the fact that just for the reason that it can be edited by anyone, all around the world, it shouldn´t be banned but students need to be taught to collect quality information.
Obviously, Wikipedia is an instance of data but it is not itself an appropriate source for citation. As it can be written and edited by contributors from around the world, the teachers suggest students to be very much critical before referring to any information from it.
In addition, Rajopadhyaya shares that students should be informed and reminded that anyone can put anything on the site, and it is not necessarily a credible source. However, they need to be able to make this choice for themselves.
Since the controversy, in which it emerged that free editing is possible, it had allowed articles containing inaccuracies and bias to appear, it may mislead sometimes with its content.
"Once several students cited information offering the same incorrect information, from Wikipedia which was really annoying," complained Amrita Sharma, ex- teacher of Jesis Higher Secondary School.
Students can use Wikipedia, knowing the fact that articles can be changed easily, but verifying facts accordingly is recommended. Therefore, Rajopadhyaya suggested that even if Wikipedia is a good reference site for knowing what´s what, students should not exactly copy the information in their assignments and project works.
Information today is easily accessible, with internet use growing everyday, and so students need to know how to use it and not ´copy-paste´ information from Wikipedia or any other sites.
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