“As educators, we are in the business of reducing the dissemination of misinformation,” said Don Wyatt, chair of the [Middlebury College history] department. “Even though Wikipedia may have some value, particularly from the value of leading students to citable sources, it is not itself an appropriate source for citation,” he said.

--Quoted in “A Stand Against Wikipedia”

When I first heard that the history department at Middlebury College had banned Wikipedia as a source for research papers, my initial reaction was, "That’s appropriate. Wikipedia should not be used as a source." The problem, however, is not a result of how Wikipedia entries are constructed. No encyclopedia should be used as a source in a academic research paper.

Like many of the professors who replied to “A Stand Against Wikipedia,” I tell my students why Wikipedia is not appropriate. However, taking a stand against Wikipedia is not sufficient. I also need to discuss with students how and why I use Wikipedia in my own research.

When I need a quick reminder about a concept about which I already have background knowledge, I will sometimes go to Wikipedia; a process that is far quicker—and no less unreliable—than checking random entries obtained from a Google search. I will also turn to Wikipedia when I confront a concept or term about which I am unfamiliar. Reading a Wikipedia entry helps me get an overview of the issues.

When Professor T. Mills Kelly took a stand for Wikipedia by writing, “Call me crazy, but I’m assigning Wikipedia as my textbook in Western Civ this semester,” he gave me an idea about how I could use Wikipedia as a teaching tool in my own history classes. I have already began to develop a Wikipedia based assignment in the nineteenth-century American history course I am teaching this spring.

Last week, I used Wikipedia as a pedagogical tool to help students come up with ideas for research papers. After discussing Wikipedia with them, I assigned “A Stand Against Wikipedia” and Dr. Kelly's “Why I Won’t Get Hired at Middlebury.” Then, I asked them to look up a Wikipedia article that interests them. We will discuss their findings next week.

Today, I read Professor Dave Allen’s response to “A Stand Against Wikipedia,” in which he offered an excellent suggestion on how Wikipedia could be incorporated into a film course. I have already mailed his idea to two colleagues who, like me, teach film.

By asking students to turn to Wikipedia as a learning tool, we do a far better job of teaching them critical thinking skills than we do by simply banning it as a reference.