Summary Of Danah Boyd's 'Wikipedia As A Site Of Knowledge Production'

I agree with everything that Danah Boyd has to say in “Wikipedia as a Site of Knowledge Production.” Her work is relatable, humorous, and casual, while being compelling. The subject is easy to understand because I often use Wikipedia. She makes it relatable by including the inputs of real students. It appears that she has done a lot of research and interviews on this subject, which gives the reader more real-time information to think about. Boyd tells a personal story within the article, and this makes the reader feel more connected to the author. Throughout the article, she talks about the Wikipedia page on the American Revolution. This is a topic most students are familiar with, so it is a good example to use to get her point across. In this

She has conducted many interviews and has done research for this article. By bringing in the opinions of the students, it makes for a more casual approach, while bringing in someone the reader can relate to. This again takes away the feeling of just being a formal, informative essay presenting an argument, and it shows that other people are interested in this subject as well. While approaching this topic with the students the author states, “No one taught them to think of Wikipedia as an evolving document that reveals how people produce knowledge. Instead they determined whether an article was “good” or “bad” based on whether they thought that their teachers could be trusted when they criticized Wikipedia. This is a lost opportunity. Wikipedia provides an ideal context for engaging youth to interrogate their sources and understand how information is produced.” This sums up the thinking of most high school students and opens up a new idea of the teacher not always being

By telling the story of her mother’s and her grandfather’s differing views, it once again makes the article more relatable. She opens up to the audience and shows that she has had issues with this subject too. This story also shows the problems with textbooks and other one-sided sources. It gives a humorous and light-hearted approach, with the mention of family, to an otherwise informative essay.

Boyd also brings in an example of how a Wikipedia page really works. By mentioning the Wikipedia article on the American Revolution, it brings in a subject that readers are familiar with and have probably had to research before. It shows the pros of using Wikipedia. These include more updated information, views from both sides and everyone else around the world, explanations on why people edited the article, and discussion forums that can open up platforms to even more learning and