Wikipedia! Most likely you have used the free user-created online encyclopedia, but have you explored the resource beyond the basics? If you’re interested in learning more and in participating in a thoughtful discussion about Wikipedia, consider attending this class at Johnson County Library on Monday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Central Resource Library in the Carmack Community Room. The class will last until 8:45 p.m. I attended a similar class at Johnson County last fall and thought it was really worthwhile! It’s FREE, but registration is requested.
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Back in June, I posted an announcement here for a class being taught by Scott Viera at the Johnson County Library, “Wikipedia: Can We Trust It?”
Diana and I attended the class last night and we’re still talking about it this morning! Scott (a reference librarian at the Johnson County Library) is fascinated by Wikipedia and has done a lot of research into its history and structure.
The class was open to the public and my favorite part was listening to people’s questions and comments. Wikipedia is a topic that inspires discussion! Before the class, some people had been unaware that it was a user-created encyclopedia. A school-librarian in the crowd talked about the challenges/opportunities of teaching students information literacy. Some people had been wary of Wikipedia before the class, but left feeling more knowledgeable and confident.
I’m guessing that most of you have searched Wikipedia, but have you explored the site lately? Having 90-minutes to do that in class last night was a treat. Scott pointed out the Help section (lots of good information there) and the community portal.
There’s some excellent stuff on Wikipedia — I’ve been checking out the portals (introductory pages for topics) lately. Have you seen the Poe Portal? … the Cuba Portal?
Where will Wikipedia go next? How will it change? Will it continue to grow (the English language Wikipedia encyclopedia is nearing the 2 million article mark — 1,949,791 articles as I publish this)? What is its place in the information world?
Wiki means quick and here’s a class that I’m planning to sign up for very quickly! Leslie N from Johnson County Library just sent me a heads-up that they are offering a class in August, which may be of interest to people working in libraries. As many of you know, this is a topic that is on my mind a lot, so I’m looking forward to this!
Wikipedia: Can We Trust It?
Johnson County Central Resource Library, (9875 W 87th St., Overland Park, KS)
Monday, August 13, 7pm
What information does Wikipedia offer me? Can I trust the information?
This class will take a look at how social networking is changing the way
information is created and shared. We will also look at the pros and
cons to Wikipedia and what the collaborative online encyclopedia teaches
us about information.
Anyone who is interested needs to register on Johnson County Library’s webpage: www.jocolibrary.org - the calendar is a graphic on the right-hand side. Or you can send an email to librarian Scott Vieira vieiras@jocolibrary.org (the instructor for the class).
I remember a college assignment that required the creation of a mind-map. Once students got past worrying about whether they were doing it “right” or “wrong”, it was actually pretty fun to create. Mind-mapping can be a useful tool, because it helps us see the forest - the big picture - the macro-view. It’s about being aware of the connections and the inter-relatedness of things.
I think visualization tools like this can be especially useful when we’re trying to understand things that are really, really big. As many of you know, I have a strong interest in Wikipedia, the user-created online encyclopedia. I came across an amazing Wikipedia visualization this morning. I would love to see the 5′x5′ version and will probably buy the poster when it becomes available (you MUST check out that ‘buy the poster’ link - nerdy nirvana!).