OPINION

VoiceBox: Wikipedia

By Hebe Ormsby
Contributor

What do you think about an instructor using Wikipedia as a reference site in their course?

“They shouldn’t. I don’t trust Wikipedia because it can be edited by anyone, but if they’re using the references at the bottom, then it’s fine. But don’t use it.”
Ryan Murphy
15, Dexter, accounting

“That would depend on what they’re using it for: whether they’re using the site itself or using it for different sources. If it’s the core source, then I’m not comfortable using it, bt if it’s a minor source, then I’d be fine because the source material is good.”
Ryan Crisenbery
19, Saline, mechatronics

“I have a personal experience about this. In middle school, one of the kids in my class went on Wikipedia and changed the information about Hitler on it, and the school was banned from using Wikipedia. I don’t use it because people can always change the information. Unless it’s to look up quick theories, but you can use Google for that. There’s just a lot better resources out there, and we’re taught to use better resources.”
Lee Hoyer
20, Brighton, environmental science

“I say ‘no’ to that because I’ve been taught that it’s not reliable.”
Nathan Dobrei
19, Dexter, business transfer

“As long as they’re not plagiarizing, then I think it’s fine. I think it’s excellent. It’s the future. Looking for the future in Wikipedia.”
Christiar Langston
45, Charleston, billing encoding

“Oh, wow! I don’t like it because it’s easy to edit the information. I mean, it gets checked, but still, it’s a trap of the internet. Because someone might look up something and they’ll think that whatever’s on the page is true.”
Eric Pilotti
26, Dearborn, supply chain

“It depends on what it’s for. I don’t use it because I don’t trust it, but using it to teach is not what it’s for.”
Caitlin Brian
18, Whitmore Lake, business