Why do teachers say not to use Wikipedia?

Many colleges and universities, as well as public and private secondary schools, have policies that prohibit students from using Wikipedia as their source for doing research papers, essays, or equivalent assignments. This is because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any moment.

Why don t teachers use Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is not considered scholarly. Wikipedia acknowledges that its information is not properly vetted. The site has included hoaxes. People have created and edited pages to drive traffic to other websites.

Why do teachers professors warn you not to use Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a popular online encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. Because of its open nature, many teachers and professors often warn students that it should never, under any circumstances, be used because it is “unreliable.” As with all things, the situation is much more nuanced than that.

Why are we not allowed to use Wikipedia?

Here's why: Wikipedia content is not necessarily written by subject experts, and may be inadequate or incorrect. Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings. (See Wikipedia's 10 Most Controversial Pages)

What do teachers have against Wikipedia?

Small articles are ones that ar rarely searched can be less accurate and maybe even vandalized, because they are usually not moderated. Some teachers forbid using legitimate articles because they have an old misperception that anyone can edit any Wikipedia article and insert their opinion.

Should Students Use Wikipedia? How Teachers Manage Research Tools & Academic Integrity (Episode 61)

Is Wikipedia allowed in school?

In most academic institutions, references to Wikipedia, along with most encyclopedias, are unacceptable for research papers. It depends on what teachers accept. Wikipedia can be an excellent starting place for further research.

Why wouldn t your teachers want you to use Wikipedia or another wiki as a reference?

Usually teachers do not like two primary aspects of Wikipedia. The first is its open participation: anyone, regardless of background, qualifications, or expertise, can write Wikipedia articles. As a result, articles can display incorrect information. There are many examples of such incorrect information on Wikipedia.

Why is Wikipedia banned in schools?

The reliability of Wikipedia articles was considered poor by many institutions in early 2007. Also, some considered Wikipedia's coverage of subjects as making research too easy for the student efforts.

Why is Wikipedia blocked in China?

Since May 2015, Chinese Wikipedia has been blocked in mainland China. This was done after Wikipedia started to use HTTPS encryption, which made selective censorship more difficult (see also Wikimedia blockade in mainland China).

Is Wikipedia good for learning?

5 Reasons Students Can Benefit From Using Wikipedia

But many studies have shown that Wikipedia is a pretty accurate, if incomplete, source of information on topics ranging from pharmaceuticals to political science, and that its articles are about as accurate as alternative resources such as Britannica.

What are two downsides to using Wikipedia?

First, it is not considered a trusted source due to the fact that anyone can edit the content. This means that the information may not be reliable or accurate. Second, because Wikipedia is a user-generated platform, the quality and depth of information can vary greatly depending on the topic and the contributors.

Do college professors care if you use Wikipedia?

In hundreds of classrooms across the country, though, some professors have begun taking a very different tack. Not only are their students encouraged to see Wikipedia as an important information source, but they're required to edit it for class assignments. Tech is not your friend.

What are three reasons college professors generally don t want you to cite a Wikipedia article in your paper?

Because of their open participation, unreliability, and (potentially) shallow topic coverage, you generally should not cite Wikipedia articles as authoritative sources in college-level writing.

Why is Wikipedia not censored?

The editors of Wikipedia decide by community consensus as to what content is added. The only censorship by the community of note is the decision to blacklist certain images and restrict the visibility of various articles. Depictions of Muhammad, which cause offence to some Muslims, have not been censored.

Who owns Wikipedia?

Who owns Wikipedia? Wikipedia's tech framework is supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, which also supports Wikipedia's sister projects, including Wiktionary, Wikibooks, and others, and owns all of their domain names. Previously, the site was hosted on the servers of Bomis, a company mostly owned by Jimmy Wales.

What percentage of students use Wikipedia?

While 87.5% of students reported using Wikipedia, it was seen to be of limited usefulness when compared with university-provided library resources, e-books, learning management systems, lecture recordings and academic literature databases.

Is TikTok banned in China?

But the wildly popular platform, developed with homegrown Chinese technology, isn't accessible in China. In fact, it's never existed there. Instead, there's a different version of TikTok — a sister app called Douyin.

Is YouTube still banned in China?

Video-sharing sites including YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, DailyMotion, and Periscope are all blocked in mainland China. Blogging platforms such as Medium, Blogspot, and WordPress.com are blocked.

Why YouTube is banned in China?

YouTube is blocked in China, with a few exceptions. It was first blocked in October 2007 for five months. It was blocked again in March 2009 after videos emerged of security officials beating protesters in Tibet. Beijing officials called the videos doctored and placed a ban on YouTube.

Is Wikipedia inappropriate for kids?

Wikipedia is not censored, which in practice means that in relevant areas throughout the site, you will find possibly distressing or offensive content and pictures showing subjects like violence, nudity, sexual activity or controversial topics.

Why is YouTube banned in schools?

As a result, the bulk of YouTube videos have been blocked unless the District approved them to be unblocked. Due to recent changes made by YouTube and its parent company, Google, students have been able to potentially access inappropriate videos and content that include violent or sexual content.

Is it safe to use Wikipedia?

Because Wikipedia cannot be considered a reliable source, the use of Wikipedia is not accepted in many schools and universities in writing a formal paper, and some educational institutions have banned it as a primary source while others have limited its use to only a pointer to external sources.

Why do teachers hate gum?

Some believe that gum chewing should be prohibited because it can impede the learning process. They contend that gum chewing can be noisy and distracting to other students and that students who stick their stale gum on classroom furniture cause an unsightly mess.

Why do people not like Wikipedia as a source?

Critics have questioned its factual reliability, the readability and organization of its articles, the lack of methodical fact-checking, and its political bias.

Why does Wikipedia hate primary sources?

Primary sources that have been reputably published may be used in Wikipedia, but only with care, because it is easy to misuse them. Any interpretation of primary source material requires a reliable secondary source for that interpretation.