Wikipedia

The question of whether Wikipedia is a trusted source is something all future teachers should know about. I read an article in an English class last semester and the creator of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales says, that you should not use it as a source for papers. Due to the fact that anyone can change the information. I will admit that Wikipedia is easily accessible, and is normally at the top of the list when searching on the Internet. I knew that anyone could change the information however, I did not think about companies and even members of congress changing information. I like the fact that even though you may have remained anonymous it still kept a log of you IP address. For a few facts on who can change wikipedia visit the NPR website.
I like Wikipedia, I think it is a great place to start research because it is the first site. However I wouldn't allow my students to use it as a source because of the lack of validity. They could however use Wiki as a jump point many topics have sources listed at the bottom of the page that link to the site where that author got the information and you could go to that site. I was taking a Tech and Learning class for teachers when Wiki first came out and the Professor thought it was so great, he only wanted us to use Wiki as a source for his papers. Then he found out that anyone could edit the information and he changed his mind. A word to the wise, if you do use it back up the information with more credible sources.