Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Murray State University/Conservation Field Biology (Summer 2016)

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Course name
Conservation Field Biology
Institution
Murray State University
Instructor
Heather Passmore
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Conservation Biology Theory and Practice
Course dates
2016-06-02 – 2016-07-05
Approximate number of student editors
11


The conservation of life and habitats. The course highlights modern empirical and theoretical studies of the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity, endangered species, and habitats. Students work on conservation and restoration case studies, talk to conservation practitioners and wildlife refuge managers in the field, and develop and contribute to Conservation-related articles on Wikipedia.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Kdub828 Carousel feeding, Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Von der Decken's sifaka
SilkyVermilingua
Spongylumps Aquaculture in Madagascar, Plethobasus cyphyus
Msbaggott Ambystoma talpoideum, Angulate pipistrelle, Colugo, Lysimachia, Potto
Mustangracer05 Caryophyllaceae, Goldenseal, Jamaican red bat, White eared pheasant
RooneyRee
BaconIsLife Blue catfish
CougarWebb Feral pig
Eagle Pudding Big Sandy River (Tennessee), Rose Motif Leaf
AugustTulipa13
ConsLEMSU

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Thursday, 2 June 2016
In class - Wikipedia essentials
  • Overview of the course
  • 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

Assignment - Learn the basics
  • Begin the training modules assigned for your course. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 6 June 2016   |   Thursday, 9 June 2016
Assignment - Critique an article
  • Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
  • Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • A few questions to consider (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?



Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia, Using Talk Pages

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 13 June 2016   |   Thursday, 16 June 2016
Assignment - Copyedit an article
  • Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 20 June 2016   |   Thursday, 23 June 2016
Assignment - Add to an article
  • Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 27 June 2016   |   Thursday, 30 June 2016
Assignment - Illustrate an article
  • Identify an article that would benefit from illustration, create or find an appropriate photo, illustration, or audio/video, and add it to the article.
    • All media uploaded to Wikipedia must fall under a "free license," which means they can be used or shared by anyone. Examples of media you can use are photos that you take yourself, images and text in the public domain, and works created by someone else who has given permission for their work to be used by others. For more information about which types of media can be uploaded to Wikipedia, see Commons:Help desk.
    • To add a media file to an article, you must first upload it to Wikimedia Commons. For instructions on how to upload files to Commons, refer to Illustrating Wikipedia. This brochure will also provide you with detailed information about which files are acceptable to upload to Wikipedia and the value of contributing media to Wikipedia articles.