Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Auburn University at Montgomery/ENGL 1020C, CRN 2988 (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- ENGL 1020C, CRN 2988
- Institution
- Auburn University at Montgomery
- Instructor
- Michel Aaij
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Don't Use Wikipedia!
- Course dates
- 2017-01-09 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-24 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 12
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 9 January 2017 | Wednesday, 11 January 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project - Monday
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.
Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
To get started, please review the following handouts:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Practicing the basics - Wednesday
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
- When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account. In addition, you will write a brief essay (double-spaced, 12-pt font, Times New Roman, at least two full pages) about Wikipedia and this class. Please address what you thought Wikipedia was and whether that has changed after this week, what you think the challenges may be in writing for Wikipedia, and what you think a purpose can be of your writing an article for Wikipedia. Print it out, and hand it in next Wednesday, 18 January.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 18 January 2017
- Assignment - Critique an article - Wednesday
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Choose an article, and consider some questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes: "YoungWizard (talk) 13:17, 26 April 2017 (UTC)".
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 23 January 2017 | Wednesday, 25 January 2017
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap? - Monday
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
- What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
- Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
- What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
- Assignment - Add to an article - Wednesday
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 30 January 2017 | Wednesday, 1 February 2017
- Assignment - Copyedit an article - Monday
Choose an article. Read through it, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes--but don't limit yourself to that--think also phrasing, word choice, paragraph breaks. Stay out of the code and the fancy stuff: you'll see what I mean when you click on the "edit" button. Then, make the appropriate changes. You don’t need to contribute new information to the article, but just fixing one single comma or whatever isn't enough.
- Assignment - Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism - Monday
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
- Assignment - Choose possible topics - Wednesday
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user talk page. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback. In class, we'll discuss the topic(s) you have picked to write a new article about.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 6 February 2017 | Wednesday, 8 February 2017
- In class - Topics and notability - Monday
We will talk about article subjects and topics that are notable and suitable. Some subjects are inherently notable (countries, cities, animal species, monuments, presidents), but some are not (artists, books, rasslers)--these need to meet Wikipedia's guidelines for notability, and proving that they meet those guidelines needs to be done by way of references to reliable sources (there's those sources again).
- Study Wikipedia:Notability
- Look at specific guidelines that might apply to your subject, such as Wikipedia:Notability (geographic features) for buildings etc.
Some people make a big deal out of claiming that "Wikipedia deleted my article!" To see how that might happen, have a look at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion, and click on the "For articles nominated for deletion today, see..." link at the top of the page. The last thing you want is to end up there--"Please please please don't delete because it's my class assignment" is not a valid reason to keep an article, I'm afraid.
- Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources - Wednesday
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
- In your sandbox, write a quick outline of your future article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you write up? What kinds of things are important to have in your article? Not all topics need the same kind of information.
- Compile an initial list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of your sandbox, and ask around on the talk page of the relevant WikiProject. Make sure to check in regularly on that talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography. Note: this kind of bibliographical work is ongoing, for any writer, and we will return to this later on in the semester. In other words, you have time to make this bibliography grow.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 February 2017 | Wednesday, 15 February 2017
- Assignment - Draft your article - Monday
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about Wikipedia - Wednesday
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
- On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
- If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 February 2017 | Wednesday, 22 February 2017
- Assignment - Expand your draft - Monday
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
In class, we'll discuss neutrality issues in our articles and look at sources.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit - Wednesday
Do the training and at least one of the peer reviews before class. We'll do the other one in class.
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 February 2017 | Wednesday, 1 March 2017
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review - Monday
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
- In class - Finding sources - Wednesday
Before class, go to Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library, and follow each of the first five blue links (under "Find sources").
In class, we'll discuss avenues for research, including Wikipedia's "Resource Request", Google Books, and JSTOR.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 6 March 2017 | Wednesday, 8 March 2017
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia - Monday
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique. Remember, we're no longer in the sandbox--we're live, and others will read and may edit "your" article. From this moment on, it's no longer "your" article for Wikipedia purposes.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 March 2017 | Wednesday, 22 March 2017
- In class - Projects and problems - Wednesday
Have a look at Wikipedia:WikiProject and see what all projects there are--and what a "WikiProject" is. Find one or two that apply to you (for instance Wikipedia:WikiProject College football), look over it to see what all's there, and then look at the talk page (in this case Wikipedia talk:WikiProject College football) to see what's being discussed. Don't be disappointed: such discussions aren't about whether Michigan should have been in the playoffs; they're about Wikipedia articles and Wikipedia matters.
You won't be surprised there are significant disagreements between all those millions of Wikipedia editors, and tensions get high. How do you resolve conflicts? Many of them end up on various noticeboards, the most dramatic of them Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents. Read over a few conversations and see what kinds of problems are brought up, and what kinds of solutions offered, if any. We'll talk governance and authoritay.
- Assignment - Polish your work - Monday
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. We'll do more peer review in class. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Wednesday, 29 March 2017
- In class - Libray day - Monday
We will meet in the computer lab on the second floor of the library, past the reference desk. We won't have class on Wednesday.
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Wednesday, 5 April 2017
- In class - DYK week
This week we'll look at the Did You Know? process on Wikipedia. Before class, go to Wikipedia:Did you know and read the guidelines--what it is, and what it is not; and look at the long list at Template talk:Did you know. On Monday, each one of you will pick an article to review; on Wednesday, each of you will submit your own.
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 10 April 2017 | Wednesday, 12 April 2017
- In class - Accuracy - Monday
We will discuss accuracy in Wikipedia articles--compared to scholarly articles, various internet sites, and other encyclopedias. Pre-class readings TBA, but for this class day you must bring (however you bring it--on paper or as a URL) one article from a decent source (and not Wikipedia) that discusses Wikipedia accuracy, or about an important hoax that lived on Wikipedia for a while.
- In class - Bias - Wednesday
Everything is biased, they say these days. Facts are just opinions, and truthiness reigns (look it up: Truthiness, now a Featured Article--the highest quality class on Wikipedia). Let's talk bias, starting at Wikipedia:Systemic bias. Further pre-class readings TBA, but for this class day you must bring (however you bring it--on paper or as a URL) one article from a decent source (and not Wikipedia) that discusses Wikipedia bias.
Week 14
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 17 April 2017 | Wednesday, 19 April 2017
- Assignment - Final article - Monday
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!
- This week is also a great time to do our online evaluation, for which I'll email you the link when I have it.
- Assignment - Reflective essay - Wednesday
Write a reflective essay (at least 4 pages, double-spaced, 12-pt font, Times New Roman) on your Wikipedia contributions and experience.
Week 15
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 24 April 2017 | Wednesday, 26 April 2017
- In class - Article presentation - Monday
Final article presentation, in class.
- In class - Final exam
Monday, 1 May, 8-10:30am, Final Exam: this is a Pass/Fail assignment.