Re-thinking my Bias to a Reference Source

After reading section 4 of lesson 4, “References and Teacher-Librarian Bias,” I have decided to give some online sources that I discouraged my students from using another chance.  One example of a source that I will give another chance to is Wikipedia.  One of the reasons that I have steered my students away from Wikipedia in the past is that it is unreliable in the area of Accuracy, Authority, and Bias.  Because anyone can write into or change an entry in Wikipedia, it is impossible to know if the information is accurate and free of bias.  This area or accuracy however is only one of Reidling’s (and my) criteria for the evaluation of reference materials and although important may not be a reason to completely disregard an information source.  The accuracy of information on Wikipedia can be confirmed by simply comparing the information gained on the site with information gained from other sources and making sure that it is consistent.  The advantages of Wikipedia are its scope is often the perfect depth for elementary students, it is presented in a user-friendly layout, it is extremely current and it is free.  Those are a lot of advantages!  I will be recommending Wikipedia as a good source of reference to my students in the future but will be warning them about the accuracy problem and explaining to them the importance of comparing the information they glean from Wikipedia to other sources of information to make sure it is consistent.