Here are my reflections on Wikipedia's purpose, potential and role in our Interdisciplinary Studies class. And it was formatted in paragraphs, I promise; Wikipedia just made it all one big block so I had to break it up!

Throughout the fall semester, members of our Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies class have completed several exercises related to Wikipedia, the popular encyclopedic website. We have modified articles, corrected and added links within these articles, and have even written new pieces for the site. Through my work with Wikipedia, I feel that I have learned several things about the interdisciplinary studies program that I didn’t know before.

I learned many new facts about the disciplines involved in my particular program of study, Modern European Studies. It is true that because anyone can create a Wikipedia account and edit articles, one obviously cannot trust everything on the website as absolute fact. However, the information presented is generally correct and can be used to supplement one’s basic knowledge of a subject.

My major studies life and culture in modern Europe, as well as the historical and political events that shaped Europe into what it has become today. Wikipedia has presented me with articles on topics as diverse as the typical characteristics of a Latvian sense of humor, Greek films of the 1950’s, and the major battles of World War II. In addition, there is an article on ‘European studies’ itself, describing the main components that this program of study usually incorporates at schools where it has been added to the curriculum.

Wikipedia has taught me about the basic concept of interdisciplinary studies as well. Wikipedia is the ultimate collaborative effort – users work together to create the strongest and most factual articles possible, editing and revising to provide solid information. Because of this, someone reading Wikipedia sees articles influenced by people from several different backgrounds. Whatever differences may exist in the viewpoints of a scientist and a historian, both people are able to edit articles and thus add their own unique experiences to the website.

In addition, Wikipedia articles all link to one another. This relates to interdisciplinary studies because of the way different subjects intertwine in a truly interdisciplinary program. One cannot be interdisciplinary without utilizing content from several different areas; doing so provides the most comprehensive information possible, and Wikipedia reflects this.

I didn’t really learn that much about writing from my involvement with Wikipedia this semester. I’m an English minor and have written many papers for my classes, and my favorite subjects in high school were generally literature-based courses. I also love to read, so I feel that my writing style has been more developed by my classes and books than by Wikipedia, simply because good writing is not one of Wikipedia’s focal points. Writers certainly must present their information in a clear and concise way, but there is not enough emphasis on developing writing techniques to truly improve one’s writing skills.

I have learned about working with other people, though. When our class collaborated to edit the interdisciplinary pages and to create a section of our own, each person had to contribute something. In the case of our class, everyone did their share and the project was accomplished on time. Ultimately, though, the most valuable lesson I have learned from Wikipedia about collaboration has been that certain people are simply difficult to work with. If someone doesn’t like the content you have posted, they are able to delete it or change it. Obviously, in the real world coworkers won’t delete your work, but they may not always agree with you or even like you. I was already aware of this fact, but the rash and random article deletions by some Wikipedia users reinforced it.

The Wikipedia projects we completed did teach me some things about the site and about interdisciplinary studies in general, so I don’t feel that the project was a waste of time. I do feel, however, that the other projects our class completed represent the important aspects of the course better. I enjoy reading Wikipedia for fun, but I think that the textbook and the papers on different subjects were more valuable overall.

I think it would be a good idea to incorporate Wikipedia into the Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies course next semester, but to reduce its role. The course involves writing many papers and drafts of these papers (particularly the final term paper), and I think that students could ultimately learn more by focusing on projects other than Wikipedia.

Because I do enjoy browsing Wikipedia so much, I will certainly continue to use it in the future. However, because I now realize that literally anyone can write an article or edit an article’s content, I will never use Wikipedia as a serious source for a paper or research project. After all, if I could conceivably log in to the site and write something false, how is one to know that the occasional Wikipedia user is not doing that already? That throws the legitimacy of each article into doubt.

I also don’t think I’ll edit many articles, at least until I become a definite expert on a particular field or subject. There are several things I am interested in and that I would be willing to write articles on, but the only subjects I would cover on Wikipedia would be areas near my neighborhood. I have visited many places in St. Louis over the years, and feel well-equipped to tell others on the Internet about them. However, I wouldn’t want to cover topics any broader than those.

In my opinion, Wikipedia currently doesn’t have the power to become anything more than an online resource for trivia. However, it is valuable within the Internet community because of the way it involves all members of the online world and because of its innovative means of presenting random information. It is one of the best sources for a person seeking to learn about random facts, because most everything is covered on Wikipedia in some form or other. I don’t think that it will ever become more important than that, however.

Wikipedia is certainly interesting, and I must give credit where credit is due in terms of its capabilities as an informative and fun site, but overall I think it should remain a site people browse and edit for fun.

Reflection of Relfection

Dear P-Chiddy,

    I liked what you had to say-very nice.  I'm glad that you got something out of this experience and that you've been able to have a rather positive experience.  Your reflection was very well-written and really enjoyable to read.  Your comments were all helpful and insightful,good job! Lvlnglafoftneatsteak 23:17, 7 December 2006 (UTC)