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+---- Thread: Why do schools hate Wikipedia so much? (/showthread.php?tid=4589564)
* - shajaams - Dec 18, 2014
I think its because they dont want you to copy paste an entire article without thinking, use their references :p
* - hacc - Dec 18, 2014
Teachers usually aren't good with computers. they don't understand the concept of wikipedia; how there are moderators who make sure people don't just change the stuff to nonsense. they probably don't even know what a moderator is. they just hear "anyone can change it" and make a bunch of assumptions about how its not credible. i have tested it out one time. I changed a completely random article about plums and by the end of the day it was back to normal.
i think its a good place to start with any research. you get familiar with other terms and get ideas of other stuff to look up.
* - ~Jay~ - Dec 18, 2014
Just look at what Wikipedia uses for citations and use that. Don't just try to rage against the machine and fail for no reason.
* - ChanceĀ - Dec 18, 2014
Not sure why teachers have always hated Wikipedia. Yeah, people say anyone can edit whatever they want but if that was truly the case, wouldn't a bigger amount of the information be fake? I'm pretty sure Wikipedia reviews the information more than most teachers think. I'm finishing up my second year of college and I've used Wikipedia my entire life, never had a single problem with it.
* - MrOrang - Dec 23, 2014
My school does not really care about this as long as you put it in your resources and put in the date you viewed the article on wikipedia.
* - Tomb Raider - Dec 23, 2014
The excuse they will use 100% of the time is that anyone can edit it so it is not accurate. But Wikipedia is amazing and 99% is correct. For the rare occasion someone does edit a page trying to be funny it is monitored closely and be removed quickly.
I really do wish teachers would allow Wiki
* - montana12345 - Dec 23, 2014
I use wikipedia anyway. They just hate it because one time one smart guy said that wikipedia is unprecise..
* - 'Snorlax - Dec 23, 2014
Wikipedia is not a trustworthy source, simply because anyone can write there. If your Wikipedia page has no sources, it's most likely fake, if you can't find it anywhere else.
* - Handsome Banana - Dec 23, 2014
At the bottom on the wikipedia page you can find the sources for the whole article. Just cite those instead of wikipedia.
* - ISO - Dec 23, 2014
Because most important part of the information is covered in the same place and teacher want student to search information from everywhere on the internet.
* - WebcamPython - Dec 23, 2014
Its because "Anyone can edit it" but they dont realize its actually a reliable source.
* - Chuck. - Dec 23, 2014
1. They do not want you to copy and paste.
2. They want you to actually research
3. It gets too easy.
* - Rooter - Dec 23, 2014
(Dec 17, 2014 05:25 PM)Vancouver Wrote: Most, if not all, information on Wikipedia is cited from reliable sources that are usually academic in nature.This, most important topics are also locked to prevent vandalism.
It pisses me off that most teachers don't realise that. It's the same at my university, we get marked down if we cite Wikipedia.
* - Tutelary - Dec 23, 2014
You'd be surprised on how a lot of things are done. Check out the history of any controversial page. It's ridiculous. Anywho, don't use Wikipedia itself, use it as a general overview and check the sources it provides. I'm sure there are moderators but they aren't really prominent. I've done a few petty vandalism runs by changing a single number in a date, they don't get rid of it. But it's a game. You have to be careful as doing too much gets it removed.
* - Stack Overflow - Dec 23, 2014
I've never understood it either. Most teachers are unable to comprehend the fact that you need sources for your information to submit to Wikipedia, or else it is flagged with a warning saying that no sources/too few sources were specified.
I recall a couple of years back, I asked a teacher if I could use the source links on a Wikipedia page that the author used for my project. She shot back at me asked "Are the sources from Wikipedia?" "Well, they are the sources the author used to write that Wikipedia entry..." "If it in any way comes from Wikipedia, you can't use it."
Fuck you, Mrs. P.