User:Mightymize/VMize NMAC 3108 Journal

May 30, 2019 - First Entry

I posted the following in my journal yesterday but when I returned to my journal today, it was empty. Thankfully, I followed the recommendation to save a back up in another program, so I am able to copy and paste it into my journal. Let this be an example to keep your own backup.

This is my very first introduction to editing wikipedia. I have often used wikipedia to learn about subjects that interest me but I was always intimidated about the process to contribute. I encourage you to listen to the podcast, "How I Built This" featuring wikipedia founder Jimmy Whales, episode dated February 25, 2018. In the interview with Mr. Whales he describes how he built wikipedia and some of the challenges to keep it running. My favorite aspects of Wikipedia are that it is a non-profit, and openly crowd sourced.

I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with this editing environment and contributing something that will benefit our community regarding Macon,GA.

As I understand the course requirements for the journal, we are expected to contribute at least two journal entries a week as well as comment on a colleagues journal at least once a week.

Good thing you had a back up! Also, welcome to the course @Mightymize:--AmaniSensei (talk) 16:19, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

May 31, 2019 - Second Entry

Initially, I found navigating Wikipedia, creating the Journal, and linking it to Mr. Lucas’s user page, intimidating and challenging. I went through and read RQ1, RQ2, RQ3, and W1.

I found the audio feature of W1 most helpful, because I was able to listen to the commentary while simultaneously reading the page’s text. I learn best when I can receive information multiple way, simultaneously. This process was much like actively listening to a Professor’s lecture while taking notes.

When attempting to link my journal to Mr. Lucas’s page, I was unclear how to properly format my text. I wanted my name to be in the Journal’s description. As I went to update my journal’s name to include my own, I realized the formatting was exactly what was needed to be copy and pasted to the Professor’s page. I was then able to edit the professor’s page by pasting my text where I wanted it to appear on the page.

Fortunately, my attempt to link my journal to my professor’s page appears to be successful.

@Mightymize: Great work, and well-done. (Best to get your professor's name correct, too: Dr. Lucas. 😁) Keep up the good work. —Grlucas (talk) 20:29, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: It was challenging for me too, but I think we will learn more as we use this system. We can understand how this wiki works as we read the things the professor wrote for us. Ysabella Escalona (talk) 03:23, 3 June 2019 (UTC)

The audio can be helpful, but don't forget about the direct messaging system on the Wiki Education website. Although, I'm sure you have the swing of things now @Mightymize:--AmaniSensei (talk) 16:27, 6 June 2019 (UTC

June 8, 2019 - Article Evaluation

For my first article evaluation, I have selected a page somewhat randomly.  Through a series of selections I wound up finding a “selected article” on the beverage, Dr. Pepper.

The content of of the page was appropriate for the subject.  The page contents include a summary, and discusses the history, varieties, distribution, other products, marketing, museum, an anecdote, as well as references and citations.  I cannot imagine additional topics that should be considered or have been omitted.

The article did a very good job of maintaining a neutral and balanced tone. I found the article was successful in not sounding biased to any particular beverage.  Business decisions made by the the manufacturer are presented factually and without subjective opinions.  

Within the article there are a great many links and citations. While I did not check every link, the ones I did check appeared to be accurate and appropriate. The citations I checked were also accurate and from reliable sources, like the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The article did touch on a prevalent opinion that Dr. Pepper tastes like prune juice which cited subjective sources like internet forums.

In reviewing the Talk page, I find an active discussion surrounding proposed corrections, and proposed new content. The page is apart of the WikiProject Food and Drink and is a selected article on the Drink Portal.

I agree with you. Wikipedia is more neutral than some local newspapers. This is sort of surprising too @Mightymize:--AmaniSensei (talk) 16:23, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

I like how accurate the information is. I never used Wikipedia before now because most of my professors spoke so much taboo over it. I am glad that I am getting to see that it is very reliable for information gathering. Kehli.west (talk) 01:19, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Be surer to revise before publishing. Eliminate awkward sentences; make them clear. Could you rewrite your first sentence and make it better? (I bet you could.) Please add the article you evaluated to the WikiEdu dashboard. You should not bold headers and subheads. Good use of paragraphs; they make your text easier to read. 😁 —Grlucas (talk) 19:52, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

June 9, 2019 - Second Evaluation

This article evaluation is on the article “Houston County, Georgia”. The article does a good job of discussion the origins, location, and appropriate census data of the population. The content of of the page was appropriate for the subject. Embedded in the article were images of the courthouse, map of the county’s location within Georgia, and a map of the United States, showing the location of Georgia. The articles contents include a Summary, Geography, Transportation, Demographics, Education, Communities, Politics headers, as well as references and citations.

Notably absent were statistical weather data, USDA Plant hardiness Zone, details on local economy and industry, recreational opportunities or interesting anecdotes such as notable or famous individuals whom were born or currently live in Houston County.

Also, Robins Air Force Base is listed one time, as a link with no further description. I believe additional elaboration regarding Robins AFB would be appropriate.

The article maintained a neutral and balanced tone. I found no slant or bias towards a particular opinion or viewpoint.

Within the article there multiple links to other pages such as surrounding and adjacent counties, notable highways and communities. Citations and references all checked appeared to be accurate and appropriate. The citations I checked were from reliable sources, like Census information. I found no opinion or subjective information.

Upon reviewing the Talk page, I find the article is a part of WikiProject Georgia. The article is rated Start-Class, which I discovered means the article is in development and may not have adequate citations or sources. The article is also designated Low-Importance, which I discovered indicates the “subject is not particularly notable or significant even within its field of study.” The talk page included a link to the article WikiProject U.S. counties which provides the guidelines or suggested outline for a U.S. county article. The talk page was last edited on April 5 2017. This page may be suitable for my class project.

@Mightymize: Some good investigation here; this is what you want to do to narrow down a topic. Way to link! Did you proofread that first sentence? (I bet you didn't.) Others could use some revision, too. 😉 —Grlucas (talk) 19:54, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: I like all of your suggestions and observations you made about the article. The lack of description about the air force base is most shocking to me. It seems like that would be a predominant characteristic of the county, and therefore receive much more elaboration. Ajhawkins95 (talk)

June 17, 2019 - Project Brainstorm

After much deliberation as to what topic to focus on for my project, I have narrowed down my options to three. They are, in no particular order, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Fort Hawkins, or create a page for Amerson River Park. I am leaning towards creating a page for Amerson, but a little trepidacious about tackling a full article from scratch. It may make more sense to attempt to improve an existing article rather than build one from scratch, considering how inexperienced I am with Wikipedia.

I would appreciate your insights, and feedback to assist me in making my decision.

@Mightymize: I would nix the former. You might find more to add to Hawkins, but you should take the challenge and create an article for Amerson. (Oh, and would you mind numbering and titling your posts? Thanks.) —Grlucas (talk) 21:06, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

June 24, 2019 - Article Selection

I just realized I didn't complete my journal entry regarding which topic I selected for my project. I felt pretty strongly about creating a page for Amerson River Park. When Mr. Lucas [sic] offered some encouraging advise to tackle Amerson, I felt I got the confirmation that I was looking for. I personally enjoy this park and the access it provides to the Ocmulgee river. Last year I got into kayak fishing which has provided me the opportunity to enjoy the river in a whole new way. It is surprising to me that Amerson doesn't have it's own wiki page considering how long the park has existed, and now many people utilize it.

One concern I have is whether or not parks are expected to follow a specific format or template. Of the dozen or so National, State, and municipal park pages I have reviewed, I find varying headers on each page with some degree of commonality but no specific template being applied. This leads me to believe that parks do not strictly adhere to a unified template, and I am at liberty to employ which ever headers I feel are most appropriate. The solution I have come up with will be to model the Amerson page after other pages for Georgia parks.

Some topics I have considered to add to Amerson's page are;

• History
• Facilities
• Annual Events
• Activities
• Wildlife & Flora
• Photos/Gallery
• Reference
• External Links

I would really welcome constructive feedback regarding the possible headers for my Amerson page. Are there any topics that I have overlooked? Should I nix the history component, because their is unlikely to be a great deal of history, and just include it in my opening paragraph?

I also have a few unresolved questions.

1. What are the protections on images/photographs
2. Is it acceptable to take my own photographs
3. Is a gallery too ambitious for my first page

I really like how efficient and encompassing the page to Vogel State Park. However, I may start with a more attainable goal like the page to Unicoi State Park, and add to it as time permits.

If you have any additional ideas to improve upon what I have considered, please feel free to comment below!

@Mightymize: Pease see my comment under your second journal post (I indicated the incorrect part above). Also, see Amerson River Park; @Kehli.west: you might have a partner here. I like that you are looking for models; very good strategy. Yes, you may use your own photos — highly recommended. —Grlucas (talk)

@Grlucas: Thank you so much for adding me in. I will make arrangements with her.Kehli.west (talk) 02:09, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Hello. I am working on Amerson River Park as well. Dr. Lucas suggested we can edit together. I have just been working on formatting and I have mainly written notes about the research I have found. I can type it up on my sandbox tomorrow evening if you would like to compare facts. This is the draft page that I have already started. It is only my start. I have to add some of the other research. Kehli.west (talk) 02:09, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

@Kehli.west: Hello Kehli, I apologize for my delayed response. I didn't realize you were also working on Amerson. Thank you for allowing me to work with you on it. I wrote an opening paragraph and would appreciate your feedback/critique. I'll attempt to copy it to your talk page Mightymize (talk) 16:54, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Awesome! I can wait to read it. Here is the link to the draft I have submitted in case you want to edit.Kehli.west (talk) 17:01, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

June 24, 2019 - Using Citations

I completed the citation training early last week but failed to update my journal. I must find a way to be more intentional with my journal, like designating certain day/time to complete entries.

My experience using citations has been nice and easy. I found the wikipedia training and included practice very informative and intuitive. Thankfully I didn't have any difficulty creating citations where needed. Wikipedia editor makes adding citations simple to understand. I wrote down the steps as indicated on the wiki training so I could reference them in the future. I started to add references in my sandbox but I lost all of my progress when I walked away from my project without saving and the system timed me out. That was a powerful lesson to save your work and have a back up saved locally. I am using notepad to copy and paste my work as a backup. Are there better options or practices to saving our work? Do you back up your journals and sandbox, and if so, how?

@Mightymize: Make small edits. Save. That's really all there is to it. Be sure you mark minor edits as such, too. —Grlucas (talk) 14:45, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

July 1, 2019 - Project Status

Had an opportunity to work on my article page this weekend and things went very well. I have worked out a rough draft of the opening paragraph which includes the bolded Article name to being the paragraph. Online I found a few sites from which to cite details about the park. Today I will rough out a few more sections that I can go back and fill in as I continue to collect sources. I'm finding the source editor easier and easier to use. It really helps to preview your work, proofread it and make the necessary edits before publishing. My goals this week are to make it over to the library and pick up a few books about the Ocmulgee River history and the resident wildlife so that I can add those sections to my page. I really want to have references that are not entirely online.

@Mightymize: HTML break tags are unnecessary. Here's a quick guide that may help you. I recommend not reporting on personal issues in your journal posts. Try to think of it as a living document whose sole purpose is to document your learning within the context of this class. It is different from a personal journal or diary.—TSchiroMGA (talk) 14:09, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

@TSchiroMGA:. Thank you for the link and the advise. I will check out the information and learn what an HTML break tag is and edit my journal entry to be strictly about my learning experience in this class. Mightymize (talk) 14:17, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

@TSchiroMGA and Mightymize: Correct: you really should never have to use any HTML, especially not the <br />. —Grlucas (talk) 14:48, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

@TschiroMGA and Grlucas: Thank you for the feedback. I am a little confused about what I have done incorrectly. I haven't used any HTML, intentionally. Perhaps you are referring to the multiple line spaces I inserted?

@Mightymize: What article? You need to assign yourself an article, please, via the WikiEdu dashboard. —Grlucas (talk) 14:48, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas:. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Some how I misunderstood how to assign myself an article. I think I have done that now. I will go through WikiEdu and make sure I am up to date. If there is anything further I need to take care of, please do not hesitate to point it out. I'm getting a bit lost. I'll refer back to the syllabus again.

July 1, 2019 - Peer Review

Peer review of @Strasburg7312: Article. The article looks very good, overall. The lead section begins with the subject of the article in bold and a clear, strong opening sentance. The article follows a clear structure that is logical and easy to follow. Article content has a balanced, neutral tone. The sources appear to meet reliability guidelines. I am impressed with the info window inserted into the article. Second paragraph, second and third sentences both begin with, "since then". Suggest rewording to remove redundency. Third paragraph, first line, I suggest,"Outside the display is a plaque in memory of Benny A. Scott."

@Mightymize: Hi there! I hope you don't mind if I leave you with a few tips. I've made mistakes throughout this entire semester that reflected in my grade, and I noticed you doing a few of the things I've done, as well. I'd like to bring them to your attention so you might correct them before Dr. Lucas grades your work.

Whenever you respond to someone's talk page, or respond to a discussion, it is helpful if you tag yourself at the end of your post. If you click the pencil in the top, right hand corner of the page, press on Source Editing, and add 4 of the "~" at the end of your comment. It even has a button to press that does it for you. Without doing this, the only way to know who the commented on the post is to search through the history.

Something else is to really practice what Wiki Edu discusses in the lessons each week. I find it helpful if I leave it open in one tab and work in another. The peer review is more in depth than what is given above, and the lesson from last week gives you a list of things to include.

The last thing that I think would be helpful is to learn to properly tag someone. It should be @Username. There is also a way to tag someone in the templates, as well. You can search for "Reply To" and then you just type in the username. This is how I tagged you in this post. I hope you find this helpful moving forward. I think it would be a good idea if you went back and changed some of the things that were done incorrectly. Dr. Lucas mentioned in the audio recording this week that at the end of the semester, he will do an overall grade on our journals. I hope this helps some! LynzeeWhite (talk) 15:09, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

July 2, 2019 - Learning to Work with info boxes

I wanted to earn how to insert an information box into the project article. First I watched a youtube video (Wiki will not allow me to link) that details how to use info boxes. The video's information list a link to the info template page. To properly locate the most appropriate info box template, I searched for the term, "park" and found several variations. The template for "park" seemed the most applicable. The video does a good job of walking you through the process of locating the template your page needs, how parameters work, and commons mistakes to avoid. I copied the template with the common parameters into my sandbox and previewed the changes. The info box didn't show any information, then I realized I needed to complete some of the parameters for the info to populate. I updated the title, location, looked up the GPS coordinates, and filled them in the template. After previewing the changes, the info box now is properly displaying the information I input. I copied the template and parameters to the project article [River Park] and added a brief edit summary. Next I added an entry into the draft page's talk page describing the changes I made and where I got the template so others could follow up and edit the parameters as deemed appropriate. This experience of learning to insert and edit the info box has left me feeling more empowered. I especially found the youtube video (previously referenced) helpful when I would watch a little, follow the instructions, watch a little, follow the instruction until I completed the process.

@Mightymize: Wow, that sounds really useful. I ended up clicking edit and looking at how the info box was formatted for different hospitals and then filling in the specific information that I needed to include. Good work!! NVaden (talk) 20:29, 11 July 2019 (UTC)

July 5, 2019 - Social Media Plan

A good social media plan should:

• Begin by specifically targeting the audience most interested in your product or message
• Utilize the social media platforms your audience is using
• The message should be direct, clear and transparent
• Include a call to action. Engage the audience to participate.
• Media plan effectiveness should be evaluated, and refined according to success or lack there of

1. Who is the audience that would be interested in or benefit from our Amerson Park wiki?
2. Where, online, can this audience be reached?
3. What message would resonate with this audience?

The audience for Amerson Park are outdoor and fitness enthusiast. This would include people that enjoy hiking, walking, running, kayaking, canoeing, tubing, fishing, photography and walking their dogs. The picnic and playground areas would attract families with kids for outings and parties. Another potential audience would be local news organizations that may link to the wikipedia page from their online articles.

The social media platform most effective at targeting such a broad audience, would be Facebook and Instagram. I am in a few Facebook groups that are familiar with Amerson. They would be a good place to start. Instagram, with the appropriate hashtags and photos, could be effective.

The message could go something like, "Amerson River Park has got it's own wikipedia page now and it is amazing. Check out the photos, they turned out great" or, "Have you seen the new wikipedia page for Amerson River Park? Go check it out. It turned out really great. What do you think it is missing".

Those lines are direct, clear and free from marketing speak which should engage your audience. Most of all the call to action informs and creates interest to motivate the reader to action. I would respond to those lines.

@Mightymize: I think these are all great pitches to encourage others to add to the page. I think you did a great job of identifying your audience and how to reach them. The use of hashtags would be smart too. Hashtags like #fitness #outdoors #parks #travel #maconoutdoors #maconparks #amersonriverpark #maconamersonriverpark would be good ones. This will reach people who are willing to travel to areas for enjoyment as well as people who are looking for locations for enjoyment here. Great post and good practical information. Also don't forget to add your timestamp.Kehli.west (talk) 21:37, 5 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: That would be an effective plan. Knowing who your target audience is helps in marketing your message appropriately. Since your audience will likely be outdoor types of people, including hashtags such as those will draw in a larger crowd. Atallent (talk) 21:30, 7 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: These all seem to be solid points, but I'm not sure I can buy any of them. Why? —Grlucas (talk) 14:26, 8 July 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas: Thank you for the feedback. But, I do not understand what you mean by you are not sure you can buy any of them. It is probably something obvious, but would you elaborate what you mean by you are not buying any of them and why?

@Mightymize: Here's a hint: What must a lawyer typically have to have in order to win in court?—TSchiroMGA (talk) 12:34, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

@TShiroMGA: Is the answer, a compelling argument supported by the law?-Mightymize (talk) 12:49, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Now think about what would make the lawyer's argument "compelling" and become the lawyer for your journal post above. Then you should have solved your issue.—TSchiroMGA (talk) 14:01, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

July 6, 2019 - Adding a Map

Next I wanted to learn how to add a map into an article. I sought out youtube for directions. I learned that wiki commons is a powerful resource where anyone can contribute media to be used in wikipedia. The content in wiki commons is available under an open content license. What this means is, the content can be used without having to first secure permission from the original creator. However, some content may have licenses that require the creator be attributed or the specific license to be identified.

I wanted to locate a map of Georgia to include in the Amerson River Park article. Although I tried several variations of search terms, I was unable to locate a blank map of Georgia. However, after a google search I found an image that was already in wiki commons. Next I will attempt to insert the map and coordinates, from another page and use it to place a map in the article for Amerson River Park.

I am revisiting this journal entry to provide a follow up on what I learned about adding a map to the Amerson River Park article. I discovered that the template for the park information box will place a map, when you complete the map and coordinate parameters. I found that the coordinates must be in degree, minutes, seconds format, to populate the map.

@Mightymize: Adding a map sounds like a great idea! The article that I'm working on, Rose Hill Cemetery (Macon, Georgia), has a map of Georgia with a pin on the location of the cemetery. For what it's worth, you could totally cut and paste the coding for that map and tinker with some of the location information to make it fit your article. Working under the source editor might be the easiest method, if you're interested. Best of luck with your page! --Sara Kathryn 05:27, 8 July 2019 (UTC) (talk)

@Cavaliergirl96:-Thank you for offering to share your map. I have been unsuccessful in getting a map to work for me. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'll check out your article right now. Thanks, again!-Mightymize (talk) 13:23, 11 July 2019 (UTC)

July 11, 2019 - Adding Links

The WikiEdu assignment for this week is to add 3-5 links from our article, on Amerson River Park to other wikipedia pages. I was able to successfully add links from our article to the following articles, Meadows, Wetlands, Oconee River, and Altamaha River. The process to create links to other articles within wikipedia is very intuitive and simple to complete.

Next, I want to find articles that I can insert a link back to Amerson River Park. Oconee River, Ocmulgee River, and Altamaha River may be good places to start. After reviewing Oconee and Altamaha's pages, I did not find a way to reference Amerson River Park. However, on the Ocmulgee River page, I added the last line in the description to include Amerson River Park. Next I linked it to Amerson's article and added the appropriate citation. Now there is at lease one link back to Amerson's article.

@Mightymize: I was checking out the wiki that you are editing and it looks really good. I would recommend to add a picture next so it would catch the readers attention. Great job! Ysabella Escalona (talk) 17:38, 11 July 2019 (UTC)

@Ysabella Escalona: Thank you for the feedback! Will definitely get some photos added soon.-Mightymize (talk) 17:42, 11 July 2019 (UTC)

@Ysabella Escalona: Wiki article. Wikipedia is a wiki that contains articles. —Grlucas (talk) 13:06, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Ysabella Escalona: Thank you for the clarification. I did not understand the distinction. I have reworded the journal entry appropriately. I appreciate your constructive critique.-Mightymize (talk) 14:57, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Did you proofread? There are many typos here. Good job with the links. —Grlucas (talk) 13:06, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas: I thought I had proofread it, but clearly my efforts were inadequate. I have made revisions and edits to correct typos, and unclear wording. Thank you for your comment! In the future, I will proofread several times prior to publishing-Mightymize (talk) 14:57, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Great. How about "weeks" in the first sentence? What should it be? —Grlucas (talk) 19:35, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

July 12, 2019 - Map Issue Resolved

Resolved my confusion with getting a map to show in the infobox! Getting a map to show up in the info box was very challenging for me. I read the instructions in Template:Infobox Park and even copied the template but it no map would show. I went to other park sites like Vogel State park and Golden Gate Park and copied the template but still no map would show up. I reached out to classmates and the Teahouse group, all were kind and offered their thoughts, but none presented a solution that worked.

As I expected, the problem was a result of my misunderstanding. The issue had to do with the coordinates parameter in the inbox template. Coordinates can be displayed as decimal degrees, degree and decimal minutes, or decimal, minutes, seconds. The longitude and latitude can be displayed as one of those types, however, how you translated it to the next format is important. It's not necessarily a one to one translation between coordinate types. One cannot plug in the first, second, and third numbers from decimal and degrees into the first second, and third slots in decimal, degrees, and seconds. That won't work or I was doing it incorrectly. After I secured the accurate decimal, degree and seconds, and plugged it into the template, the map showed up. Seems like a foolish mistake to make, but I didn't know what I didn't know. This was an experience that helped me learn not to copy and paste old code with new. Sometimes the merging of the two introduces incompatible components. I hope others can learn from my mistakes.

@Mightymize: Way to be patient and diligent. —Grlucas (talk) 13:16, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: Thank you for sharing your experience on how you were able to successfully add a map to your article. I think including one is an important piece of information that can be used by viewers to easily determine where something is located or how far it is from them. I will use your advice in creating one for my own page! Atallent (talk) 14:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: It was pretty cool you were able to do this. If all else failed you could have included an image that already had this information. However, I like your resolve. AmaniSensei (talk) 23:52, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

July 20, 2019 - Reflective Essay

This has been a challenging course because it required me to not only learn new skills but to apply those skills almost immediately after learning them. Admittedly, I was a little intimidated to create my own Wikipedia account, knowing my work would be published on the internet available to everyone's scrutiny.

The assignment to critique several articles in Wikipedia, was enlightening because it forced me to take a much closer inspection of each article to properly evaluate it. The criteria for a good Wikipedia article are:

1. Detailed lead section
2. Clear structure
3. Balanced content
4. Neutral tone
5. Good sourcing

Evaluating Articles

Evaluating each article against those criteria helped me to see how well each article adhered to them while underscoring the importance of each criteria. What makes each Wikipedia page easy to scan and understand, despite the diverse number of topics available, is they all adhere to these criteria thereby creating a uniform standard that the reader is familiar with.

My Contributions

This summer I made several contributions to Wikipedia. The largest contribution I made was collaborating with a classmate to create an article for Amerson River Park. Other contributions I made were adding information to the Ocmulgee River page that linked back to Amerson. Additionally, I reviewed and evaluated other articles offering suggestions for clarity and succinctness.

Regarding the Amerson article, I proposed a substantial opening paragraph, added several sentences, and made a few edits for clarity. I learned how to create an information box with a map and added it to the article. Within the article, I linked several other articles, as well as created a link back to Amerson from an article. My classmate was gracious enough to take several photographs for the article. I offered to edit the photographs, but that was not necessary. I am very proud of my contribution to the article, and I think my effort is evident in the finished product. Frankly speaking, of all the projects I have worked on for a class, this has been the most enjoyable and rewarding.

Peer Review

I completed a peer review of Strasburg7312 Central of Georgia Railway 509. At the time of the review, I proposed a few edits to the second paragraph to eliminate some redundancy, as well as suggested a sentence to replace a line in the third paragraph. It appears my suggested sentence was incorporated into the article. In my journal above, I evaluated articles for Dr. Pepper and Houston County, Ga.

On Receiving Feedback

One of the great aspects of the Wikipedia community is the collaborative spirit of its editors to offer feedback to make each other stronger editor. As I started learning how to edit on Wikipedia I made many mistakes that did not escape several of my classmates. The feedback I received in my journal was always supportive, and applicable. Early on it was pointed out to me I was putting an unnecessary space in my replies to other contributors. As a result, my replies were not creating the notification they should have been. Another critique I received was to eliminate HTML break tags in my journal. I do not know any HTML code nor how I was adding tag breaks. I sought clarification but did not get a response. I assume that I added unnecessary line spaces between sections of my article draft, which the visual editor was coding as an HTML tag break. I eliminated all unnecessary line spaces in my attempt to adhere to the feedback I received. Before I began editing on Wikipedia, I was concerned about running into harsh criticism. Thankfully, I can say that fear was met unfulfilled. All the feedback I received was quite constructive.

Summary

Now having completed this course I come away with a new appreciation for Wikipedia, it's contributors, as well as the nuances needed for quality writing in digital media. Although I found some of the assignment and exercise requirements unclear, the skills and knowledge gained from the training were more than sufficient to prepare me to complete the article project. As I stated earlier, this course project has been the most enjoyable I have been required to complete in my college studies. Now I have the confidence to log into Wikipedia, click the edit button, and apply what I know about creating a great article. With this confidence and knowledge, I anticipate continuing to contribute to Wikipedia in the foreseeable future.

@Mightymize:Great essay, you not only broke down each and every aspect of this course, you also made very good points for each one of them. It's funny, but I made similar points in my essay on how effective this course is compared to other writing course due to the real application, we as student go through in this course.

@Mightymize: May I recommend you use subheadings in order to break up your post?—TSchiroMGA (talk) 05:51, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

((Reply to|TschiroMGA}} That is a great suggestion! Thank you for the recommendation!-Mightymize (talk) 11:32, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

@Mightymize: You state: "some of the assignment and exercise requirements [were] unclear." Sorry about that. Could you please tell me which so I can work to clarify them? Did you ask questions about them? How did you overcome this lack of clarity? Thanks. —Grlucas (talk) 14:38, 24 July 2019 (UTC)