Who knew becoming an expert was so easy? While Wikipedia.org certainly has many virtues, my latest experiment goes to prove that people must be wary of what they trust on the informational site. According to my latest update, the character of Shrek was loosely based on a cartoon character from my childhood...Bullwinkle. Ignore the fact that one is a moose and the other is an ogre. Ignore the fact that one is Scottish and the other American. Ignore the fact that one can think for himself and the other has trouble with thinking. Ignore all of these because I am an expert and Wikipedia told you so.
While a shared collective knowledge like Wikipedia is important for those of us in the education field, it is always important that we remember to check our sources. It is especially important to pass this knowledge onto our students. The job of the 21st century educator has become twofold; not only do we need to introduce our students to prospect of technology and all it has to offer, but we must also show our students to sift through the "knowledge" that is out there.
The bottom line is that if Wikipedia has taught me anything this week, it is that students can no longer simply accept knowledge. Instead they must question it and discover it for themselves.
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