WIKIPEDIA--Should students use it?

Type any keywords into the search engine of your choice, and odds are that Wikipedia will be very near the top of the results list. What is Wikipedia and why should you caution your students about it?
According to TechWeb.com, the simple definition of a wiki is "a web site that can be quickly edited by its visitors..." The implication for scholarly research is clear--if anyone can edit, how can validity be determined?
The solution is simple--students must treat Wikipedia like any other web source to determine the validity of the content. Do the facts jibe with other sources? Is the (original) author a scholar in his field? Even Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia, cautions students about using it for serious research. Read a blog entry with some of his thoughts in the Chronicle.
Click here to read an interesting article about Wikipedia.
Students will use Wikipedia; it is up to us as educators to give them the tools to use it properly.