During the lesson…
Christoph asked the class, “Who think that Wikipedia is better?”
I didn’t raise my hand.
Christoph asked the class again, “Who think that printed Encyclopedia Britannica is better?”
I still didn’t raise my hand.
My classmate Natalie asked me, “Why didn’t you raise up your hands to both choices?”
I replied her, “It depends on what kind of information you are looking for.”
But WAIT! Natalie reminded me that actually I have NEVER used a printed Encyclopedia before. I didn’t even know how it is written differently compared with Wikipedia. Whenever I want to search for information, I go to Wikipedia. Wikipedia can always satisfy me with more than sufficient information and data. There is NO NEED for me to turn to a printed Encyclopedia. Wikipedia is up-to-date, user-friendly and richly informative. Why do we need to check out the printed ones when Wikipedia can satisfy all our needs?
The information in Wikipedia is so rich that even the detailed biography of a small character in TVB can be found. You are definitely not able to find any information about her in the printed Encyclopedias.
See her biography in wikipedia!
The information in Wikipedia covers such a wide variety and is so rich that if it is printed out, it will probably looks like this:
In the era of Internet and technology, Wikipedia has a lot of advantages that the printed Encyclopedias has not. Now, if Christoph or Rodney asks me once again whether Wikipedia or printed Encyclopedia Britannica is better, I will definitely say WIKIPEDIA!
Maggie, I have never used a printed Encyclopedia either. As it is a digital era, it is so convenient for people to surf on the internet to find data. However, be careful that not all information are true and accurate.
ReplyDeleteI thought the information on Wikipedia may not be as accurate as the printed ones before. That was why I was so surprised to heard Rodney said that actually their accuracy are more or less the same!
ReplyDeleteMaggie, I found that Wikipedia is a great invention and helped me a lot to do my assignment and projects, although teachers won't treat that as a credible source.
ReplyDeleteA printed encyclopedia would not be a common source and database to refer to, not popular for younger generation too. As the computer will be the encyclopedia of them, they don't even need a print one, since most updated information is on the web and Internet.
Kari, you are right. Take a look at the picture on my post. Who is going to read and check out information from books of that thick? Younger generation is concerned with the latest information in which only wikipedia can fulfills their needs.
ReplyDelete