Wikipedia - told you so!

Wikipedia has grown enormously since its inception: It now boasts 5.7 million articles in English and pulled in 92 billion page views last year.

The site has also undergone a major reputation change. If you ask Siri, Alexa or Google Home a general-knowledge question, it is likely to pull the response from Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia has been cited in more than 400 judicial opinions, according to a 2010 paper in the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. Stephen Harrison Happy 18th birthday, Wikipedia. Let's celebrate the Internet's good grown-up. Washington Post, January 14, 2019.

I was one of the earliest defenders of Wikipedia: Wikipedia Use: Ban It or Boost It (2006). Still reads pretty well.

Wikipedia Use: Ban It or Boost It?

ISTE’s Leading & Learning with Technology, 2006-07 #1

“Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence” headline from The Onion, July 26, 2006

A collective gasp and shudder went palpably through the entire room of library media specialists when I first heard a conference presenter describe how Wikipedia entries are written – by anyone, at anytime, on nearly any topic. No editors or editorial process. Instantaneous changes. Faith that the “lay” viewer of the entry will correct any inaccurate information found. Wikipedia flaunts every rule our library schools taught us about the “authority” of a reference source.

Wikipedia, that growing, user-created online encyclopedia, is the poster child for Web 2.0 and is fostering a sea change in ideas about the credibility and value of information, products and services.  The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote: “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” Since it has emerged on the scene in 2001, Wikipedia seems to have already gone through Schopenhauer’s “stages of truth” in the general public’s mind. More than a million people a day visit the site.

The thought of a reference source that anyone can edit seems on its face at first ridiculous to those of us who have been taught to identify the reliability of a resource using traditional criteria. And indeed there have been highly publicized cases of deliberately false, even malicious, content placed in Wikipedia entries. But when Nature magazine reported a study late in 2005 that showed Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia were comparatively accurate in their respective science entries, the theory of “self-correcting” information seemed to be validated. Historian Roy Rosensweig defends the accuracy of Wikipedia entries as well: “Wikipedia is surprisingly accurate in reporting names, dates, and events in U.S. history. In the 25 biographies I read closely, I found clear-cut factual errors in only 4. Most were small and inconsequential.”

And on May 8, 2006, respected New York Times columnist Paul Krugman quoted from Wikipedia to define “conspiracy theory.”

Ridicule, opposition, self-evidence. Where are you? How many of you already turn to the Wikipedia for a quick understanding of a topic? How many of your students do? And how do you counsel them when asked about accuracy? Should Wikipedia be an accepted source for a research assignment?

While it is difficult to give a blanket endorsement to Wikipedia, it can be a valuable resource for students and staff alike.  Why turn to Wikipedia instead of the Encyclopedia Britannica?

1. It has a wider scope. As of August 2006, Wikipedia contained over a million articles in its English-language version; Encyclopedia Britannica had 65,000 articles in its 2005 print edition and 120,000 in its the online edition. In her delightful New Yorker article, Stacy Schiff writes:

Apparently, no traditional encyclopedia has ever suspected that someone might wonder about Sudoku or about prostitution in China. Or, for that matter, about Capgras delusion (the unnerving sensation that an impostor is sitting in for a close relative), the Boston molasses disaster, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada, Bill Gates’s house, the forty-five-minute Anglo-Zanzibar War, or Islam in Iceland. Wikipedia includes fine entries on Kafka and the War of the Spanish Succession, and also a complete guide to the ships of the U.S. Navy, a definition of Philadelphia cheesesteak, a masterly page on Scrabble, a list of historical cats (celebrity cats, a cat millionaire, the first feline to circumnavigate Australia), a survey of invented expletives in fiction (“bippie,” “cakesniffer,” “furgle”), instructions for curing hiccups, and an article that describes, with schematic diagrams, how to build a stove from a discarded soda can.”

2. It has up-to-date information on timely topics. Wikipedia may be one’s only reference source on recent technologies and events. For current popular social concepts such as “the long tail,” technology terms such “GNU,” or up-to-date information on political groups such as ‘Hezbollah,” print or traditionally edited sources can’t keep up. (As I write this at about 10AM CDT, dozens of updates have been made to the Hezbollah entry already today.)

3. Web 2.0 sources may state values closer to that of the reader. The voice of the common man, vox populi, is being heard, and heeded as a source of authentic, reliable information. My own view of the reliability of information has changed. In selecting hotels, I now use TripAdvisor.com, with its multiple, recent and personal reviews of lodging rather than Fodors or Frommers. Why? It’s more accurate, timely and allows me to read a variety of opinions. And this has become my habit with almost any consumer-type purchase. What do “real” people have to say?

4. Controversial/undocumented information is noted as such. David Weinberger writes, “There's one more sign of credibility of a Wikipedia page: If it contains a warning about the reliability of the page, we'll trust it more. This is only superficially contradictory.” Wikipedia entries are flagged with readily visible warnings such as “The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. See the relevant discussion on the talk page.” The user who reads the “talk page” will glean an understanding of the controversies about the topic.

5. Hey, it’s only an encyclopedia for heaven sakes! Basic references sources – whether Wikipedia or World Book – should be used to get a general overview of a topic or put a topic in context, not be used as a sole and final authoritative source.

But we also need to teach our students strategies for evaluating Wikipedia entries – indeed any information source online or in print.

Even very young students can and should be learning to consider the accuracy and potential bias of information sources. Since junior high students often make websites that often look better than those of college professors, we need to teach students to look:

• For the same information from multiple sources.
• At the age of the page.
• At the credentials and affiliation of the author.
• For both stated and unstated biases by the page author or sponsor.

Kathy Schrock has a useful comprehensive approach to website evaluation, listing 13 questions students might ask to determine the reliability of resource.

As students use research to solve problems about controversial social and ethical issues, the ability to evaluate and defend one’s choice of information source becomes as important as finding an answer to the research itself. As the Internet (and especially Web 2.0) allows a cacophony of voices to rise, expressing a increasing range of views, a conclusion without defensible sources in its support will not be of value.

Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls…er, Wikipedia.

Sources cited:

Schiff, Stacy “Know it all: Can Wikipedia conquer expertise?” New Yorker, July 31, 2006. <http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060731fa_fact>

Schrock, Kathy “The ABC’s of Website Evaluation,” <http://www.4kids.org/TRC/abcbrochure3.pdf>

Rosenzweig, Roy “Can History be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past” (Originally published in The Journal of American History Volume 93, Number 1 (June, 2006) <https://www.sfu.ca/cmns/courses/2012/801/1-Readings/Rosenzweig-%20Can%20history%20be%20open%20source%20.pdf>

Weinberger, David “Why believe Wikipedia?” JOHO: Journal of Hyperlinked Organization, July 23, 2006 <http://www.hyperorg.com/backissues/joho-jul23-06.html#wikipedia>

Image source

Why cutting budgets is hard in schools

Once again, I am trying to develop a technology plan which has few dollars and more expectations for service, reliability, and access. Seems to be the story of my career. Despite what seems like a healthy economy, school funding in Minnesota is leaving many schools looking for dollars to cut - including in technology budgets.

Despite our district being run in a fiscally responsible manner, we have been asked to reduce our total budget by 7% (after a 6% cut last year). Between declining student enrollments, funding increases that have not kept up with inflation and a shrunken budget reserve, these cuts are painful but needed. (I am also a taxpayer in the district and state in which I work.)

It would seem on the surface that if a school loses 5%, say, of their student population, it should cost 5% less to run the school. That not how it works. Here's an analogy:

My family of five loses 20% of its household when oldest child goes to college. That should mean 20% less in living expenses, right? Except:

• The mortgage, property taxes and insurance stay the same (or increase due to inflation)
• Utilities stay the same or only go down slightly - costs as much to heat the livingroom with four as with five people in it
• Basic maintenance and repairs remain the same (clogged pipes, roof replacement, snow removal)
• Time spent cleaning, mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage etc. remains pretty much the same

These are all "fixed expenses." Only when I move to a smaller house that more closely fits the needs of my smaller family - one that costs less to purchase and keep running - can I save real money as a result of a smaller family.

School districts can, of course, close and sell school buildings to reduce fixed operating costs and they should do so. This can be extremely unpopular with parents whose children may lose their neighborhood school or community members who may have a sentimental attachment to their alma mater. We can also raise class sizes, cut support roles like nurses, librarians and counselors, offer fewer classes, or reduce co-curricular activities. In the tech world we reduce staff, extend replacement schedules, and drop digital resources for staff and students.

I suppose after 43 years in education I should be somewhat numbed to the pain budget cutting causes to our kids and to those of us who care about them. But so far, the pain is still there.

Image source

BFTP: 12 Contrarian statements

Contrarian: : a person who takes an opposite or different position or attitude from other people. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrarian>

The introduction that my friend and colleague Gail Dickinson once gave me before a conference keynote remains the one of which I am most proud:

Doug not only pokes holes in sacred cows but drags them into public places and commits indecent acts with them.  

It is with great glee that I often tackle sacred cows, but I also like to think it is with great purpose as well. While I believe, to a degree, in the "wisdom of the crowd" philosophy, I also remember the old parenting adage, "If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff as well?"

Anyway, here are some positions I've taken that I hope have rocked the boat a little: 

1. Adhering to copyright's safe harbor guidelines and other non-user friendly fair use advice is unprofessional. See here and here and here.
2. Technology should not transform education. I harbor deep skepticism about the ability of technology to change education in powerful and positive ways. Yes, sometimes technology can support (or even make possible) best teaching practices - but teaching and learning always come before the technology.
3. Fixed schedules for librarians can be a good thing. There IS value in a library program that includes regularly scheduled classes. 
4. Collaboration is not always a good thing. Fine if it is a means to an end, but not an end in itself as library literature too often assumes. See here and here.
5. State/national program standards are irrelevant. School libraries and technology programs should be tailor-made to suit individual schools rather than conform to a set of state or national standards. 
6. Education is not capable of large scale change. Society doesn't really WANT schools to change. 
7. Librarian offices are detrimental to effective libraries. Librarians should not have offices. Their desks should be on the floor. Where they are accessible to students and staff. Period.
8. "Best of" lists are not in the best interest of PLNs. Even when one is on them.
9. Requiring a print source in student research is not needed. No, one of the requirements of a term paper resource list is not print.
10. That "21st Century Skills" are nothing new. We're just asking all students, not children of the wealthy to master them. 
11. Reading and writing are being trumped by media literacy. If you can't interpret and communicate in visuals and sound in this post-literate society, you're in trouble.
12. Face-to-face educational experiences will always be better than online. Sorry, I have personally yet to experience an online class, presentation, MOOC, or meeting that even comes close to the learning I experience when working with others in real time, in the same room. 

Patton is reputed to have said, "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." If you are not quesitoning every movement, every philosophy, every change effort, every piece of leadership advice, every marketing gimmick, start doing so. 

Including not always agreeing with me.

Cartoon by Brady Johnson

Original post Nov 30, 2013