Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/The College of Wooster/A History of Native America (Spring 2019)
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- Course name
- A History of Native America
- Institution
- The College of Wooster
- Instructor
- Jordan Biro Walters
- Wikipedia Expert
- Elysia (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- History
- Course dates
- 2019-03-25 00:00:00 UTC – 2019-05-03 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 15
This course focuses on some of the major issues North American Nations and tribes face as they seek to assert rights of self-determination in the second half of the twentieth century and start of the twenty-first century. For several thousand years before European settlers spread out around the globe, a tremendous diversity of indigenous cultures flourished. This class provides exposure to many Native peoples’ identities and ways of life pre-1492. It then examines how these cultures changed under the impact of settler colonialism, a process that has lasted for several centuries. As we explore themes of sovereignty, activism and reform, health and social welfare, art, culture, religious freedom, education, and land and water rights, our course will answer three entwined questions: how are indigenous worldviews and practices different from our own, how were they affected by contact, and what is the legacy of this impact today?
| Student | Assigned | Reviewing |
|---|---|---|
| A blinka | Cuyahoga Valley National Park | |
| RCIfan | ||
| Jcharlton19 | Oral tradition | Oral tradition |
| Bpederson20 |
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Friday, 29 March 2019
- Assignment - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.
Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 1 April 2019 | Wednesday, 3 April 2019 | Friday, 5 April 2019
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
Exercise
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Look up 3-5 potential 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.
- Choose 1-2 potential articles from that list that you can tackle, and post links to the articles and your notes about what you might improve in your sandbox.
- Finally, present your proposal to your instructor for feedback.
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
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.
- Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. 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 — ~~~~.
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 8 April 2019 | Wednesday, 10 April 2019 | Friday, 12 April 2019
- Assignment - Exercise
- Assignment - Finalize your topic/Find sources
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
- Compile 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.
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 15 April 2019 | Wednesday, 17 April 2019 | Friday, 19 April 2019
- Assignment - Begin drafting 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 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.
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 sandbox.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 22 April 2019 | Wednesday, 24 April 2019
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Exercise
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- 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?
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 29 April 2019 | Wednesday, 1 May 2019 | Friday, 3 May 2019
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Final article
It's the final week to develop your article.
- 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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!
- In class - In-class presentation
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.