Often times as a student when writing papers and trying to find credible sources I was told NEVER to go on Wikipedia. Today we put our skills to the test and were asked to use an “old school,” Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and Britannica to search something that was Moderately obscure. My group chose the Chokecherry, something that we all have never heard about before. To our amazement Wikipedia had the most information, and better picture options as well! This information truly shocked us all and we were extremely excited about what we had discovered.

When we compared what we had found on Wikipedia to the Encyclopedia Americana, and Britannica the information was rather credible. Encyclopedia Americana as well as Britannica offered roughly 150 words; however, Britannica gave you the first 100 free and you had to sign up to purchase the next 58! Wikipedia on the other hand, offered more information. We were also provided us with different varieties of that berry as well as its consumption. There was a black and white photo in the Encyclopedia Americana, whereas the Britannica and Wikipedia provided us with colored photographs. Wikipedia also added other pictures for us to chose from! This allowed us to really be able to see the many differences and get a better idea of what the Chokecherry was.

All in all we were amazed at how the site that is seen often times viewed as taboo and an absolute “no no,” for educators was the most informative for our experiment!