There is the general feeling among teachers at all levels of education that Wikipedia (and other Wikimedia projects) are not suitable for academic purposes. The many incidences of plagiarism from Wikipedia in student papers reinforce the mistaken idea that this is not a useful tool for learning and teaching, especially in higher education. Dr Toni Sant from Wikimedia UK presents an alternative view of Wikipedia and suggests how if students are going to use Wikipedia, why don’t we as lecturers and tutors provide them with a support mechanism that ensures they: (a) understand how a wiki really works, (b) learn to distinguish between “reliable”, “less reliable”, and “unreliable” sources, (c) comprehend the difference between subjective and objective viewpoints, and (d) discover ways to share knowledge on the internet rather than just consume it.
This video was a keynote presentation at the 6th International Integrity & Plagiarism Conference, 2014.