Wikipedia Gradually Accepted in College Classrooms
Professors don't want students to rely on the site but admit it's a useful starting point for research.
In 1775, Paul Revere boisterously rung bells to warn colonists of an impending influx of British soldiers.
Actually, he didn't. But anyone who visited the Wikipedia page dedicated to Revere earlier this month may have thought that to be the case. The erroneous addition was made in the wake of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's flummoxed ramblings regarding the famed colonist that were caught on camera and soon went viral. Though the additions to the Wikipedia entry—likely added by a supporter to give credence to Palin's claims—were soon removed by Wikipedia's editors, the instance highlighted the problem inherent in Wikipedia's crowd sourcing nature: Errors, though they may be caught, can still be posted, viewed, and absorbed by impressionable minds.
[See how social media is influencing students' use of slang.]
This is precisely why college professors almost universally bar students from citing any
