Wikipedia and the Future of the Written Word

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Wikipedia:

With my 5^th grade students I would allow them to use Wikipedia to help them start to find information about a topic, but I would have them check with other resources to make sure the information is credible. I really like the way Mr. Franklin, the teacher from the Literacy 2.0 textbook, modeled a lesson with using Wikipedia to show students how to check if the information is accurate and reliable. This is a lesson that I would probably use in my classroom. As for the way Margaret Santori uses Wikipedia in her classroom, I think her idea of using it to show how people communicate their disagreements is very interesting. I never thought of using Wikipedia in that way in the classroom, but can see how it would be very beneficial for my students to see how people discuss issues in a civil way even if they do not agree with the other people.  When searching for information about using Wikipedia in the classroom, I found Wikipedia: Schools/Teachers’ Guide that is actually on a Wikipedia webpage.

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The Future of the Written Word:

I believe that three dimensional reading and writing is very motivating and allows for students to engage in the activities in a more creative way. I can even see three dimensional reading and writing replacing the written word more and more every day, but I do not think it will ever replace it completely. I know many people who prefer to read the hard copies of books and sometimes prefer to hand write their assignments. However, I can see us using less of the written word as more technology is being integrated into the classrooms.