Once shunned by academics, Wikipedia now a teaching tool

[Francis Hult]

AFP

 

Once shunned by academics, Wikipedia now a teaching tool

 

Wikipedia, the upstart Internet encyclopedia that most universities forbid students to use, has suddenly become a teaching tool for professors.

 

Recently, university teachers have swapped student term papers for assignments to write entries for the free online encyclopedia.

 

Wikipedia is an "open-source" web site, which means that entries can be started or edited by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

 

Writing for Wikipedia "seems like a much larger stage, more of a challenge," than a term paper, said professor Jon Beasley-Murray, who teaches Latin American literature at the University of British Columbia in this western Canadian city.

 

"The vast majority of Wikipedia entries aren't very good," said Beasley-Murray, but said the site aims to be academically sound.

 

Full story:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ggMwxmMUWxgdo5nkNerkzU8biFAA

_______________________________________________
Edling mailing list
Edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu
https://lists.sis.utsa.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling
List Manager: Francis M. Hult