Wikipedia

Last week I was fortunate to attend the Challenging How Knowledge is Created workshop at Burswood Entertainment Centre in Perth. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, gave a stimulating talk about knowledge sharing and the opportunities available for making knowledge freely available to everyone. The panel discussion and group participation that followed were insightful and gave much food for thought.

Educators (and Librarians) are divided about the value of Wikipedia as a reference tool. Jimmy himself considers that, like any other encyclopedia) it should be only a starting point for research.

The Denver Post has an article, Grading Wikipedia, that reports on the results of a study in which five Colorado scholars were asked to review the Wikipedia entries on Islam, Bill Clinton, global warming, China and evolution. Four out of five agreed their relevant Wikipedia entries are accurate, informative, comprehensive and a great resource for students or the merely curious.