Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/California State University, Stanislaus/English 1006 section 104 (Summer 2017)

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Course name
English 1006 section 104
Institution
California State University, Stanislaus
Instructor
Karen Zandarski
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
English
Course dates
2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-08-17 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
16


This is where you'll find all the details needed about your Wikipedia assignment this summer.

Assignment Description


Grading


Student Assigned Reviewing
Instructor karen
Jessical320
LeslieDeLeon
Jvnnifern31
Jelizalde1
Mreynoso5
Andreuh.xo
Alopez106
Anthonysilva98
Michellelopezzz
Jgutierrez52
Basilalaubali
Asamra3
Criss.sanchez

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 5 July 2017   |   Thursday, 6 July 2017

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 10 July 2017   |   Tuesday, 11 July 2017   |   Wednesday, 12 July 2017   |   Thursday, 13 July 2017

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 17 July 2017   |   Tuesday, 18 July 2017   |   Wednesday, 19 July 2017   |   Thursday, 20 July 2017
In class - Monday in class

Introduction to the Wikipedia project

Welcome to our Wikipedia project  timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for our 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. 

Our 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. 

Assignment - Homework
Get started on Wikipedia

Individual assignment. Due Monday before class. 

  • Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.) 
  • 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. 
  • Please review the following handouts: 
  • 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.

Assignment - Tuesday Homework
Evaluate Wikipedia

Individual assignment. Due Tuesday before class.

It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page. 

  • Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training & the "Sources and Citations" training (linked below).
  • Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings. 
  • As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these): 
    • 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?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
    •  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
    • Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
    • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
    • How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  •  Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Criss.sanchez (talk) 18:21, 1 August 2017 (UTC). [reply]
  • Everyone will spend a minute or two describing what they learned during this "evaluation" assignment tomorrow in class. Be prepared!
In class - Wednesday in class

Discussion

Everyone will spend a minute or two describing what they learned during the "evaluation" assignment last night. What did you learn about your topic specifically? About Wikipedia generally? What surprised you? 

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"?

Activity

Today in class we will read the Wikipedia article about CSU Stanislaus & practice our editing skills.

Read & copyedit
To start, we will spend some quiet time reading the CSU Stanislaus Wikipedia article.

While you read, think about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. If you have your computer out, feel free to "edit" the section where you see a change needed and make the change! Remember to save often and always leave an edit summary. If you don't have a computer, pair up with someone in the room to help copyedit the article.

Suggest an improvement
As a class, we will discuss what some of the good things are in the article, some misconceptions found in the article, and some ways that we as a class could improve the article.

Make an edit!
We will break up into groups and each group will be assigned to make one change to the article based on what we determined we could improve in our discussion. 

In your group, nominate someone as the "editor" and work together to draft up 1-2 new sentences to add to the article for the section you've been assigned. Make sure to include a citation in your contribution and to write up an edit summary. At a minimum you should add 1-2 new sentences backed up with a citation to your section. 

Assignment - Homework
Choose possible topics

Individual assignment. Due Wednesday before class.

  • Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
  • Review the list of "Available articles" on the Articles tab of this course page. For the 1 or 2 that you might want to improve, open the articles, read, and review them. What could you improve? 
  • Look up 1-2 potential other topics related to the course that you might want to update on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Identify one or two areas from each that you could improve. 
  • Create a section in your sandbox with your notes and ideas. 
In class - Thursday in class

Discussion

We will spend the first part of class discussing what you learned about the articles in the "Available articles" list and what ideas of your own you came up with.

Group selection

Select groups
For the rest of the project you'll be working in groups of 2-3 to make significant contributions to an existing Wikipedia article or to create a new Wikipedia article. Today in class we will break up into groups based on what we learned each of us want to work on in our discussion. Once groups have been formed, team members will meet and complete the following in class:

Activity

  • Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page. 
  • Select one group member whose Sandbox space you'll all share to draft your article. Each person should link to that shared Sandbox from their own Sandbox page. A sandbox is like any other page on Wikipedia, and anyone can edit it. 
    • Reminder: Wikipedia doesn't allow multiple people to edit from different devices at the same time. If you're working together in person, one person should add the work to the Sandbox. If you are all working independently, make small edits and save often to avoid "editing conflicts" with classmates. Make sure that you're logged in under your own Wikipedia account while editing in your classmate's sandbox to ensure your edits are recorded. 
    •  Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited. 
  • In your group sandbox, start writing a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to your selected article.
    • Think back to when you did an article critique and review your individual notes from last night. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
    • Start compiling a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
In class - Thursday in class


Library visit


Assignment - Homework
take next training modules

Individual assignment. Due Monday before class.

Individually take the "Plagiarism" and the "Sandboxes and Mainspace" training. 

Assignment - Thursday Homework

Continue Evaluating Wikipedia

Assignment -


 It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page. 

  • Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
  • Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings. 
  • Read and review the following Wikipedia articles:
  • As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these): 
    • 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?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
    •  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
    •  Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
    • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  •  Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to one of the articles you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page.
Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 24 July 2017   |   Tuesday, 25 July 2017   |   Wednesday, 26 July 2017   |   Thursday, 27 July 2017
In class - Monday in class

Discussion of credible sources and citing sources

  • 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?


Draft your article!

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

Creating a new article?

  • Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your group 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.

Improving an existing article?

  • Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your group sandbox
  • Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Before you leave class today
You should have an outline of what you plant to improve about your article started. Make sure that sections you plan to improve have the proper heading titles (you should be able to see "edit" and "edit source" listed next to each heading title).

In class - Tuesday in class

Discussion

  • 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?

Activity

  • 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 - Thursday in class (lab day)

Begin moving your work to Wikipedia!

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." 

Editing an existing article?

  • NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
  • Have one member of your group copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving! 
  • Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly. 

Creating a new article?

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and have one member of your group follow those steps to move your article from your group Sandbox to Mainspace.
  • You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 31 July 2017   |   Tuesday, 1 August 2017   |   Wednesday, 2 August 2017   |   Thursday, 3 August 2017
In class - Monday in class (lab day)

Continue improving your article

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique. At this point, your article should be live! 

  • 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. 
  • Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. 
  • Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help! 

Final article

  • Before completing your project, read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list.
  • Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!
In class - Monday Homework
In class - Wednesday in class

Respond to your peer review

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. 
Assignment - Homework
Peer review and copy edit

Individual assignment. Due Wednesday before class.

  • First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  • Select a classmate’s article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the article that you want to review. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign it to yourself to review. 
  • Peer review your classmate's draft. Leave suggestions 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? 
Milestones

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Assignment - Homework
expand your draft

Individual assignment. Due Tuesday before class.

As homework, each member of your group should make an edit/improvement to one section of your group draft. Divvy up responsibility so that each group member has one section to work on and improve. In order to avoid edit conflicts, make sure you have an outline that includes proper headings so that you can "edit" only the section you plan to improve. 

Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 7 August 2017   |   Tuesday, 8 August 2017   |   Wednesday, 9 August 2017   |   Thursday, 10 August 2017
Assignment - Reflective essay

Individual assignment. Due Monday, hand in when class starts.

Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:

  • Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article? 
  • Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions? 
  • Group work: how well did you work together? How did you decide to split up the work? What did you provide to your group? What did other members bring to the table? 
  • Peer Review:  include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article? 
  • Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback? 
  • Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important? 

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 14 August 2017   |   Tuesday, 15 August 2017   |   Wednesday, 16 August 2017   |   Thursday, 17 August 2017