"If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad"

Again, I want to apologize to anyone who might have a bit of trouble following my thought patterns today. I am just coming back from searching for mattresses (thanks to my intelligent neighbor who forgot to turn off his bathroom sink and let the water fall down into my apartment for about 6 hours), and my head is kind of in the clouds... But the reading we had this week, especially the Google/Wikipedia article, intrigued me.

Let me start off by saying that Google fascinates me. Especially the idea of putting in a phrase and having a million options pop up in just a matter of seconds. I never understood how Google worked, specifically how my search or question connected with all other websites. But it didn't stop me from using it. I think I use Google about a thousand times a day, sometimes for educational research, and other times for fun facts or for something to entertain me for a while. Wikipedia is the same way. Though I do not do extensive educational research on Wikipedia, I do use it to get a basic summary of certain things (people, places, etc), I tend to use it daily without really knowing how it works. I was always aware that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, and that anyone can post what they want- but the actual specifics of how Wikipedia works is beyond me.

I remember someone in class (I think it was Ren) sharing an idea they had about educating their students on the use of Wikipedia. Instead of just lecturing the students on not using it, and forbidding the use of it, another idea was proposed. This was because lecturing and punishing students for using Wikipedia would not stop them from searching on it. Instead, each student receives a handout of Wikipedia searches for a specific topic (say, because I am an English major, on Shakespeare's Macbeth). On this handout would be the Wikipedia's incorrect data and facts about Macbeth (like who kills Macbeth, or who says what). This way, students are still not encouraged to use it (and definitely told to not cite it), but they can at least see for themselves that they are not always getting the right information from Wikipedia. That if students choose to use Wikipedia as a source for general information, and have plans on using more credible sources after, they should at least be told and be shown why Wikipedia is not helpful for gaining correct knowledge.

Okay, it is about time that I continue putting my apartment back into its original state. Stay out of the heat, homies!