Today I browsed the list of Web 2.0 award nominees, and many of the were recognizable. In fact, I have used most of the websites at one time or another and they are all geared toward convenience.
My favorite website from the list was Wikipedia. (I'm sure you're familiar with it.) Admittedly, I'm a bit of a Wikipedia addict. It is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to. You can find information on almost anything using Wikipedia. If it exists, there is likely a Wikipedia article about it. Wikipedia is also available to speakers of many different languages all over the world.
There has been some question as to how reliable Wikipedia actually is. While it's true that any person can write whatever they want on Wikipedia, it is still a surprisingly reliable source of information. Submissions to Wikipedia can be approved or removed by moderators, and all submissions but be cited by a credible source. Still, every once in a while, user vandalism can show up on the site. This is one downfall.
Even though Wikipedia may not be considered a credible source of research by most teachers, it can still be used as a quick reference tool in the classroom, much like a regular encyclopedia.
Hi Kala! I can definitely relate to you about Wikipedia. I use it all the time! Of course, I don't use it for papers in class, but I use it all the time when I need to look up random things! I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses it all the time!
ReplyDelete