Is Wikipedia a quality resource?

I've encountered quite differing opinions about the use of Wikipedia and YouTube by students. I, personally, do not accept either as a reference, although I do happily allow students to use them as jumping off points. I know other educators in the same school who do accept Wikipedia as a direct reference, but my policy will remain the same, for a few reasons.

While I understand that Wikipedia is generally accurate, the fact is that students won't know what is true and what is not, and there are certainly some mistakes on Wikipedia. More than that, I tend to find Wikipedia can oversimplify things in ways that can be misleading if the reader isn't already well informed. I certainly don't want students learning false or misleading information.

A larger reason is that when I require references from my students, the purpose is not simply to verify the information. The greater purpose is for my students to learn how to find and vet references. Always going to the same website entirely defeats the purpose of this exercise. There's an amazing wealth of resources on the internet, and using Wikipedia can discourage students from looking for further sources. On the other hand, I do allow students to start with Wikipedia, and follow the references down on the bottom of the page. In this way, Wikipedia actually provides a good example for students.

I don't find students trying to cite YouTube as often, but I also don't find it quite as problematic. Because you can see the author of each video, it's clear to students that they're not looking at an authoritative source, but rather an individual's opinion. The biggest dangers YouTube presents are the truly horrible comments, and the linked videos that will autoplay at the end, making it possible for students to get a) very distracted and b) exposed to inappropriate material. (I have had so many students tell me about incredibly unsafe experiments they see on YouTube, and want to recreate them in class.)

I make use of YouTube fairly often in class, because there really are some wonderful, accurate and informational channels, and I feel confident in my own ability to choose good videos. I do sometimes use Wikipedia to answer questions that arise due to curiosity in my daily life, but never for reasons related to my teaching. I just don't find the information to be complete enough or in depth enough to answer the questions I generally have.

Updating my PLN

Updating my PLN was a bit difficult for me, as I am already following those blogs I find most interesting and relevant to my own practice. I feel that not as many high school science teachers blog as do teachers in other subjects and grade levels. I also found a number of blogs that are no longer being updated, or that are updated infrequently. That said, the three blogs I added to my Feedly this week are as follows:

Science for All is a blog run by Kirk Robbins. Kirk is a molecular biologist, elementary school teacher, and regional science coordinator. He also supervises student teachers, and has a lot to say about making science learning available to all students. His focus is on sharing transformational science education resources.
I chose to follow his blog because he shares resources I haven't always seen. He's very on top of current new about science education, and links to many reports when they're newly released. I also very much appreciate his focus on making sure that all students receive effective science education.

Mr. Barlow's Blog is where Australian high school science teacher Tim Barlow posts interesting science news, most often with video. Mr. Barlow has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator. He strongly believes that with the current prevalence of the internet, where students are able to find information on their own, teachers must do more than "simply transmit information," and must give students a drive to question and explore this information. I'm following his blog because I agree with him about the importance of providing students with interesting, intriguing science, and the news items he posts can be used as launching points to pique student interest.

Compound Interest belongs to Andy Brunning, a chemistry teacher in the UK who creates very neat, clean infographics for teachers to share with their students. Some are of clear interest, such as "does acrylamide cause cancer?" or "the chemistry of popcorn." These make great starting points for student projects or discussion. My favorite posts of his are weekly research roundups that succinctly update students on new chemistry topics. This is a great way to coax students into thinking deeper, and even to consider future education or careers in chemistry. I would like to share these with my students.


Recently followed on Twitter:

Ramsey Musallam (@ramusallam)
HS science teacher in Santa Rosa, California. Posts a lot of photos from his classroom of fun experiments and activities that are great inspiration.

Terie Engelbrecht (@mrsebiology)
Terie posts links to good resources and articles with advice and interesting questions to ponder. She tweets frequently, but doesn't retweet a lot of distracting, unhelpful information, which I very much appreciate.

Richard Needham (@ViciaScience)
British science teacher, very active in discussion with other teachers, especially through #ASEchat. He's interested in technology for learning, and posts a lot of thoughts on "big questions" in education which I find interesting.

David Bydlowski (@ICCARS)
David is a science consultant for WayneRESA and I've had the opportunity to attend several training sessions he's run at various conference. He's a really fun guy, who posts great local opportunities as well as good resources for all science teachers.

Alicia Johal (@AliciaJohal)
Alicia teaches 8th grade science in California. I am following her because she describes herself as a "equity-driven" teacher, and seems really focused on making her classroom work for all students.  I find her twitter feed to be very inspirational.

Martin Swanhall (@Swanny203)
HS science teacher in Connecticut, not the most active on twitter but consistent. He's a fan of science puns and bad science jokes, and I think he's worth following just for that.


I can't say that I've been making great use of my PLN so far. I do quite like my Feedly, though I don't find time to read it all that often. I've turned to Pinterest a few times, but there's always a lot to wade through that doesn't interest me. The one platform I have not used at all is Twitter. I genuinely dislike how cluttered Twitter can become, as well as how often I wind up seeing the same things tweeted and retweeted across different accounts that I follow. I'd like to become more efficient in
finding information on Pinterest and Twitter, as perhaps if I find a way to filter out the junk, I will find these resources more useful.

RAT model and Web 2.0

I teach high school science, chiefly biology and chemistry, to students spanning grades 9-12, depending on the class. I’m currently doing research and helping out in a 9^th grade biology classroom. We don’t have computers in the classroom, though a majority of my students do have smartphones and most have internet and computers at home. I do have several students with no phones and/or extremely limited technology access at home.

As a relative newcomer to the study of educational technology, I’m more familiar with using actual rats in the classroom than with using models of technology integration, such as RAT and SAMR. I found the Replace, Amplify, and Transform hierarchy of the RAT model to be very simple and easy to understand. 

The first level, “Replace,” is admittedly the most common in my technology use. Using a class website to post assignments and PDF copies of book chapters is really just replacing paper with a computer screen. I also use PowerSchool and PowerTeacher in place of attendance sheets and gradebooks.

Using technology to “Amplify” outcomes involves increasing efficiency of instruction or student learning, without fundamentally changing either. One example is putting lectures on YouTube for the purpose of flipped instruction. This may superficially seem like replacement, swapping lecture for video. But because the video allows students to absorb the material at home, at their own pace, this switch opens up class time for practice and interaction, enhancing opportunities for learning. Another amplification technology I use frequently is Remind, which enables a teacher to send messages via text, without either the teacher or students seeing the others’ phone number. (For students on phone plans that charge for texts, there’s an app to receive messages, and students without phones may choose to receive them by email.) I use it to remind students about assignments, days they need to bring their books in, and sometimes to give hints or modify an assignment. This can be far more efficient than writing reminders on the board and hoping students write them down. I’ve found that more students turn in homework when a Remind has been sent.

“Transformation” via technology aims to actually reinvent instruction and learning. One transformative use of technology I’m interested in is the use of VoiceThread to facilitate comments and discussion, in place of a discussion board. This could work much like the Facebook group attempted in O’Bannon’s article, but I believe my students might be more inclined to listen to other comments and to participate themselves in an audio and/or video format than in a written one. Interactive discussion where students have time to research and prepare their own comments enables a higher level of discussion, and allows students who may normally be too shy to comment in class to participate at a greater level. I’m particularly thinking about my many ELL students, who don’t speak in class due to fear of misspeaking and not being able to find the right words quickly.

Another transformative use of tech I would like to try is using Google Docs to create a lab report developed and discussed by the entire class. Students would communicate about each other’s observations, and be tasked with finding supporting evidence and resources for further information and exploration. The vast number of resources on the web really transforms the way students can connect to lab experiences.