SM4SS-WP

Selected social media for classroom use: Wikipedia

An exploration of Wikipedia and what it has to say about Nazareth, PA

• Top-level entry

  • ...in English

  • ...in Spanish

  • ...in French

• Focusing on the top-level entry in English, note the

  • Length

  • History: How long has it been around? Who created it? How many edits since then?

  • Cross-referencing. For example, the current article mentions George Whitefield and links to a separate entry on Whitefield.

• Taking a close look at entries

  • Look at the entry on George Whitefield. 

  • Why doesn't it (as of this writing) mention Nazareth? The Whitefield House?

  • Examine the Talk page for this entry – has it at least been discussed?

  • Can we edit the article to improve it? Can we at least put a note on the Talk page?

Why bother with Wikipedia?

• Content = patchy, sometimes incorrect, vandalized, etc. (On the other hand, often far, far more thorough / current than textbook....)

• Vehicle for developing students' historical thinking skills (diagram of WP structure and HT-as-applied-epistemology)

• Opportunity for 'doing' history? For example, I wrote the first version of an entry on a Bethlehem history topic, steelworker Henry Noll.

• And a short digression into cultural geography

  • Multiple WPs = different communities' voices, views.

    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape -- you can look up whatever info you like

    • http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape -- is this the same or different? Who wrote this?

    • http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape -- note the difference in title (Lenapes) -- Lenape by itself can refer to the people, the language, or a type of potato!

Re-capturing the point of this: Can you envision some possible use of Wikipedia for teaching a concept or skill in the coming school year? 

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