Do you think schools should refer Wikipedia instead of books?

Without a doubt. Essentially it boils down to the cost and its ability to be updated on a whims notice. Encylopedias are not cheap and they need to be updated once every few years, if not more. Once an Encycolpedia is printed, it is out of date tomorrow. 30 new encycolpedias purchased for a school library can add up and this money certainly can be used elsewhere. Wikipedia is free and whenever a new current event (or ANYTHING for that matter) occurs, Wikipedia is updated almost immediately. It never seems to be out of date. Actually speaking of, today during the Olympics win Finland defeated Slovakia in the bronze medal game, as soon as the buzzer ended, I refreshed my Wikipedia and the bronze medal result had already been added to Wikipedia's immense database. In any Encyclopedia, we wouldn't see that for up to 4 years, or whenever the school purchases new books. There is no doubt in my mind that Wikipedia should be used rather than Encycolpedias. Cheaper, easier and much more up to date and full of current event information.

I don't know that Wikipedia should be considered an authentic source. Since wikipedia is made by anyone and everyone; there is really no one to check out the authenticity of anything. I know in my college studies, we are not allowed to use wikipedia for a reference.

no i dont think it is a good idea.. the main reason is any editor can edit the content in wiki.. so we cannot trust the given inforamtion.. i belive most of the inforamation is tru though... but still i have found some inaccurate information in wiki.. however wikipedia is my first choice to aquire knowldge..

For school students it can act as an excellent tool but certainly it can not replace the text books.There are certain topics in Wikipedia which are in edit form and which may not serve the purpose or can not be used as replacement to the text books.Wikipedia is certainly an excellent tool for the enthusiast.

Well it almost sounds like a very interesting debate. Yes I kind of think hat it would be nice to refer wikipedia instead of books as we are presently living in the computer and technology era. But then again like someone was saying the children wouldn't take that too seriously as compared to physical books. They might just go online and be playing with the internet.

Maybe, I mean why not. But the teachers should not refer this Website alone. I mean they can only refer it to students as "one among many references" but not soley. I think that teachers should not teach the students to depend on the internet that much. There are still many printed books out there that are best reference and a good read as well.

i don't know why wiki is not considered at source at my school. it's a great reference. i think it all has to do with giving the writers of books their due. you know money competition.

Wikipedia has taken internet world by storm. Now a days it has become an organized source of knowledge. The thing that makes wikipedia special is the fact that its articles are well written and organized. HAving text books replaced by wikipedia is too far fetched idea as wikipedia is mostly edited by users so the validity of the information is not that accurate. but still in future we might see such kind of idea being used.

Yes, it should be an optional because not 100% pure or there is still human error but updated, academic ways still the best. It should be online educational site & books should work hand & hand to create productive learning ways.