User:MsTCason/Lib 100: Information Fluency in the Digital World

Course name

Lib 100: Information Fluency in the Digital World

Institution

California State Maritime University

Instructor

Ms. Cason

Subject

Maritime

Course dates

2015-03-11 – 2015-04-21

Approximate number of student editors

24

Information Fluency in the Digital World provides introduction to research and computing technology skills that are fundamental for success in college and professional environments. Students will add to an existing article in the general subject areas of maritime engineering, technology or history.

Timeline

Week 1 (2015-03-09): Wikipedia essentials, Editing basics, Exploring the topic area

Course meetings

Tuesday, 10 March 2015   |   Thursday, 12 March 2015

In class

• Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
• Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette
• Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
• Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
• Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
• Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
• Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure

• Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.
• Handouts: Choosing an article

Assignment (due March 12)

• Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.

• Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.

• Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.

Milestones

• All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 2 (2015-03-16): Using sources and choosing articles

Course meetings

Tuesday, 17 March 2015   |   Thursday, 19 March 2015

In class

• Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Assignment (due Week 2)

• Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

For next week

• Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by mid week.

  First draft is submitted for review.

Week 3 (2015-03-23): Finalizing topics and starting research, Drafting starter articles

Course meetings

Tuesday, 24 March 2015   |   Thursday, 26 March 2015

In class

• One-on-one appointments

  Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.

• Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
• Q&A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and writing the article.

Assignment (due Week 3)

• Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page.

• By the start of our next class, find an article you want to work on and mark the article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. To add the banner, add this code in the top section of the talk page:

{{course assignment | course = User:MsTCason/Lib 100: Information Fluency in the Digital World | term = Spring 2015 }}

• Add a link to your selected article to the table at the bottom of this course page.
• Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

• If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
• Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
• Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Milestones

• All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 4 (2015-03-30): Moving articles to the main space

Course meetings

Tuesday, 31 March 2015   |   Thursday, 2 April 2015

In class

• We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
• Handout: Moving out of your sandbox
• A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
  • Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
  • Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.

Assignment (due Week 5)

• Move your sandbox articles into main space.
  • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
  • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.

• Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 5 (2015-04-06): Building articles, Creating first draft, Getting and giving feedback

Course meetings

Tuesday, 7 April 2015   |   Thursday, 9 April 2015

In class

• Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
• Share experiences and discuss problems.
• Handouts: "Illustrating Wikipedia" (pgs 4-7) and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)

• As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.

Assignment (due Week 6)

• Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the articles you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

• Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

• Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
• Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.

Milestones

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

Week 6 (2015-04-13): Responding to feedback, Continuing to improve articles, Finishing touches

Course meetings

Tuesday, 14 April 2015   |   Thursday, 16 April 2015

In class

• Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.

• Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.

Assignment (due Week 7)

• Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

• Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
• Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

• Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.

• Put together a Wikipedia portfolio.

Milestones

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

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

Week 7 (2015-04-20): Due date

Course meetings

Tuesday, 21 April 2015   |   Thursday, 23 April 2015

Milestones

• Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.