Week 2: Hot Topic Debate: Should Wikipedia Be Forbidden in Students' Social Studies Research?

This "hot topic" is an issue that I am faced with every semester being a high school social studies teacher.  As a matter of fact, I addressed the issue of Wikipedia with my college prep economics class just last week when I assigned a PowerPoint presentation for the them to complete.  The first question that was asked by the students was, "Can we use Wikipedia?"  Whenever I assign research projects, I always stipulate that Wikipedia should only be used when finding photos to use in a project or presentation (I always have them to document where the photo came from).  I do not allow my students(though some might get by with it without me knowing) to use Wikipedia for researching information, simply because anyone and everyone can edit a Wikipedia topic to state anything they would like to say.  For example, if I wanted to edit a Wikipedia post saying that I am on the Supreme Court of the United States, I could do it, and someone out in cyberspace would believe it.  I know that there are a lot of items on Wikipedia that are legitimate, including some great photos, but I do not believe that it is a great tool for students to learn and research information.  There are many websites that have legitimate information, cited by legitimate authors, who have researched the topic in full. When I assign research projects, I try to promote using primary sources, and they too can be found on the internet.  The internet is wonderful, and we use it in my classes a lot, but I have to make sure that  my students are researching and learning legitimate (factual) information about topics that are assigned.  I'm not saying to boycott Wikipedia in the classroom, but as educators, I think we need to double check what is on the Wikipedia site for our sake and our student's sake.      

Week 1: Technology in Education/Introduction

    I would like to welcome you to my blog.  I can honestly say that I have never "blogged" before.  My wife and my sister both have blogs, and I have commented on theirs, but I have never personally "blogged".  I guess that there is a first time for everything :)  I love technology, and I feel like this experience will be very beneficial to me in this class and my classes that I teach.
    I guess I can share with you a little about myself.  I am from a small town in rural northwest Alabama.  The town that I grew up in is called Phil Campbell.   It's really small (I mean about 3 traffic lights and that's all :))  The town stayed out of the limelight until April 27, 2011.  A EF5 tornado centered the town and destroyed over half of it including the school where I finished, and the church where my dad has been the pastor for the past 35 years.  I had never seen so much destruction in all of my life.  It killed over 20 people, including people that I knew personally. It really devastated us, but the town and church is recovering.
   I actually live 15 minutes to the north of Phil Campbell, in the town of Russellville.  This is where I have taught for 8 years.  Russellville High School was my first job, and my only job.  I love it.  I work with really great people, and we have great students.  I currently teach honors 9th grade world history and honors government/economics.  I love what I teach, and I am very passionate about what I do.  I also love implementing different types of technology in my classroom to better equip students for the 21st century.
   I have been married for almost 7 years.  My wife's name is Katie, and she is currently employed at our church as the secretary.  She is currently going back to graduate school to major in secondary education with a concentration in English.  She has a psychology degree, but she feels like education may be a good fit for her.
    I enjoy a lot of things outside of my job.  I love to read, and I love the outdoors.  One of the outdoor things that I do is long distance running.  One unique thing about me is that I ran the Huntsville Marathon in 2011.  Some people think that running is crazy, but I enjoy it.
    It has taken me 8 years to finally go back and work on my master's degree.  This is my third class at UWA, and I have had a great experience so far.  I look forward to this class and interacting with everybody.

Thanks,
Kyle