Wikipedia knows everything - really?
Wikipedia was founded in 2001 with the aim of creating a freely accessible online encyclopaedia. The name Wikipedia is made up of «Wiki», the Hawaiian word for fast, and «Encyclopedia», English for encyclopaedia. Wikipedia is backed by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation based in San Francisco, California. As Wikipedia is financed by donations, you won't see any adverts.
Beat A. Schwendimann is Head of the Pedagogical Centre of the Swiss Federation of Teachers (LCH).
(Image: LCH/Eleni Kougionis)
In twenty years, Wikipedia has grown to become the most comprehensive encyclopaedia in the world and is the largest collaborative collection of free knowledge. Wikipedia is the fifth most visited website in the world. You often don't even realise that you are accessing Wikipedia because digital voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant also get their answers from Wikipedia.
Today, Wikipedia has more than 50 million articles in over 200 languages, including some in dialects. There are around 2.5 million entries in German, which puts the German version in fourth place among all languages, after the English, Filipino and Swedish versions. It is interesting to note that articles on the same topic in each language are original texts and not translations. This means that the German entry on a topic can differ significantly from the entry in another language. This is also analysed by researchers, for example how the Second World War is presented in German, Japanese or US-American entries.
The German Wikipedia entries would fill 1500 volumes if printed out.
Unlike traditional printed encyclopaedias, Wikipedia is free and only available online. In comparison, the 30-volume Brockhaus with its 300,000 entries took up around two metres of bookshelf space, weighed 70 kilograms and cost around 3,000 Swiss francs. In comparison, the German Wikipedia entries would fill over 1500 volumes if printed out. Due to this competition, the Brockhaus has not been printed since 2014.
Anyone can contribute to the lexicon - but according to strict rules
In the early days of Wikipedia, many teachers warned against using it. Citing Wikipedia as a reference in a lecture or essay was considered frowned upon and dubious. How reliable are Wikipedia entries that are written by hundreds of thousands of volunteers instead of paid authors? According to the «wiki principle», anyone can create or edit an entry. However, to ensure that entries are well-founded, strict rules and a rigorous creation process are in place. A list of criteria describes which topics are suitable as entries and how entries are to be formulated neutrally and backed up with references. There is an open discussion forum for each entry, where the entry and changes are sometimes hotly debated. Only when the discussion has reached a consensus does a Wikipedia editor decide to release the text or change. This prevents entries by lobbyists, defamatory or false entries. You can track every change to an article yourself in the «Version history» tab. This is where Wikipedia differs fundamentally from other sources of information on the Internet, as the version history and discussion of the respective article provide a more transparent insight into the creation of an article.
The Wikipedia structure can also be explored in a playful way
A complex knowledge structure is needed to categorise all the Wikipedia entries. Cross-references can be used to explore related, superordinate or subordinate entries. Researchers have discovered that each chain of these cross-references inevitably leads to the main entry «Philosophy». The knowledge structure of Wikipedia can also be explored in a playful way. The aim of the «Wiki Game» is to get from topic «A» to topic «B» with as few clicks as possible on Wikipedia's internal links, without using the search engine. You play live against other players and against the clock (free to play at www.thewikigame.com). The «Wiki Game» shows that you have to build up structured knowledge despite the wealth of information, otherwise you will get lost in the depths of Wikipedia instead of finding the information you are looking for.
The importance of media skills
The critical use of media is one of today's core competences. Alongside YouTube and search engines, Wikipedia is one of the most popular places for pupils to look for information.
Wikipedia articles are often too long and too complex for younger children - and therefore not recommended.
From a media education perspective, it is not recommended for younger children to read Wikipedia articles, as the texts are often long and complex. A child-friendly alternative is the Klexikon(klexikon.zum.de), for example, which works according to the same basic principles as Wikipedia, but displays articles in age-appropriate language. Search engines such as "Blinde Kuh"(www.blinde-kuh.de) also offer child-friendly content.
It is important for young people and adults to know who is behind Wikipedia, how articles are created and how the quality of entries can be assessed. Despite Wikipedia's quality assurance processes, the reliability of entries varies. As with all digital information, it is therefore important to observe a few basic rules when using Wikipedia. Is the article written objectively and neutrally? Is the presentation balanced? Does the article contain contradictions? Are the sources fully cited? Which aspects of the entry have been criticised in the discussion forum?
Wikipedia also uses symbols at the beginning or end of an article to indicate the quality of an entry. A green star indicates that this article has been included in the list of excellent articles. For this, the text must fulfil particularly strict criteria, meaning that it generally offers reliable information. A blue symbol with an «L» indicates an article that is particularly worth reading. The «red pincer» symbol, on the other hand, indicates that this text needs to be revised and should not be considered a reliable source of information.
The special nature of the way Wikipedia is created makes it a never-ending project that is constantly being improved, expanded and updated. Wikipedia will continue to grow and develop. The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that Wikipedia will increasingly include multimedia (videos, images, e-books and so on) in the future.
What will remain is the importance of an informed and critical approach to information. Schools and parents must continue to work closely together to teach children and young people these important skills.
Read more about media literacy:
- Mediennutzung: Ohne Regeln keine Orientierung
Vorschriften sind bei Kindern und Jugendlichen meist nicht besonders beliebt. Sie sind aber wichtig – insbesondere in der Medienerziehung.
- Grenzenloses Gamen? Besser nicht
Viele Eltern machen sich Sorgen wegen der negativen Folgen des Gamens. Dabei gibt es wirkungsvolle Schutzmassnahmen.