Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Ohio University/Writing in the Life Sciences (Fall 2016)

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Course name
Writing in the Life Sciences
Institution
Ohio University
Instructor
Sarah Wyatt
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
science writing
Course dates
2016-08-23 00:00:00 UTC – 2016-12-18 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
24


Current research in biology, with an emphasis on plant science, will provide students with opportunities to practice and improve skills needed for successful written communication in the sciences.

Student Assigned Reviewing
KFunk740 Pegvisomant
Cd818512 Urban acupuncture
Je402115 Red Algae
Mathematicalice Cognitive radio
LordofChains Awn (botany)
Damieco Habitat fragmentation
Nkyle784 Sand-based athletic fields
Qluong2016 Computer-aided diagnosis
Ar197913 Miscanthus giganteus
Stanleybee Genetically modified maize
Dn554314 Alzheimer's disease
Furyfrank WNT5A
Treegirl89 Phloem, Phloem loading
Kuhcee Plant nutrition
Trevanco95 Controlled burn
Greenthumb333 Peanut
BradHolben Anthocyanin
Dynomite216 Disturbance (ecology)
Lled1988 Cdc14
Ms130714 Colony collapse disorder
XiaoMMMZhao Zinc pyrithione
EllenCat Acer rubrum
Ra.fisher Conservation genetics
AboulOus RNA interference

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 September 2016   |   Thursday, 8 September 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 - Create your account and learn the basics
  • 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.

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 September 2016   |   Thursday, 15 September 2016
Assignment - What's your article?

Bring a Wikipedia article to class that you will critique.

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
Tuesday, 20 September 2016   |   Thursday, 22 September 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.