Its sad that many teachers still complain about Wikipedia. In my college they won't allow you to quote from them nor paraphrase their information because "Anyone could have edited that information and changed it"
So I explained to them that those times have changed and as of right now the Data on that site is governed and watched over by the worlds top minds - as oppose to those secondary sites that you refer us too that haven't been updated in years. Besides, the information provided on Wikipedia is cited - if it isn't, than don't use it.
Honestly, I believe its just frustrating teachers that todays generation is able to get the needed information extremely quickly.
I see this as opportunity, its amazing and great that a student can do their "research assignment" in a short amount of time because of the resources on the net. Resources out of a book are outdated, what we knew 5 years ago may have changed and the internet provides us with evolving information that changes when new discoveries are made.
For example, a book at the college explains how the saliva in a Komodo Dragon is just packed with bacteria which causes death whereas recent studies have shown that it does indeed have a venom. Now if I read that book and used that book - i'd be sharing wrong information with everyone in the class.
People have to move with technology. The internet is a steaming bag of raunchy crap and golden nuggets. Just have to sift through the crap to find the nugget - which isn't too hard today.
Thanks Wikipedia for providing us with information that continues to astound me and will continue to do so for the rest of my life (which should be relatively short because 10% of the world thinks it will end in 3 days... christ..)
Cheers.