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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Spelman College/Writing and Editing Digital Media (Fall 2022)

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Course name
Writing and Editing Digital Media
Institution
Spelman College
Instructor
JaneNova
Subject
English, Writing
Course dates
2022-08-18 00:00:00 UTC – 2022-12-15 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
12


This course teaches analytical frameworks for, as well as principles of, designing, composing, and editing various types of digital media and online publishing platforms.

Timeline

Week 6

Course meetings
Thursday, 22 September 2022
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:

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.)

  •  When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page. 
In class - Select a Hacker Name and Join our Wikipedia Course Page

Before you can participate in the Wikipedia community, you need to choose a hacker name.  When selecting your hacker name, you need to think very carefully about how you want to protect your government-issued personally identifying information.  


Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 7

Course meetings
Thursday, 29 September 2022
Assignment - The Culture of Wikipedia

 

 

Assignment - Discussion

What's a content gap?

Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.


Recommended:  In preparation for the discussion, you should also read the article: What Motivates Wikipedians and Black Twitter on Wikipedia? Thanks, but We Need to Define Ourselves.


  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
  • What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
  • How does editing Wikipedia enable us to further investigate the issue of homogeneity and diversity in knowledge spaces?
In class - Critique an Article

Exercise

Evaluate an article

It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page. 


Note: Important Wiki Project's that involve increasing coverage of black women's intellectual and cultural traditions include:

 

Note: Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes Helaine (Wiki Ed) (talk) 22:14, 2 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Assignment - Fourth Hour Justification
Sources, Plagiarism and Wikipedia

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Be prepared to have a class debate next week about copyright, creativity, and cultural appropriation

Week 8

Course meetings
Thursday, 6 October 2022
Assignment - Discussion
Wikipedia and the Issue of Neutrality

Thinking about Wikipedia

Discussion Questions

  • What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
  • What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
  • On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
  • If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
Assignment - Exercise
Assignment - Fourth Hour Justification
Add to an Article
Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9

Course meetings
Thursday, 13 October 2022
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

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

 

Assignment - Peer Review
Activity #1 [Initial Feedback]

Guiding framework

  • Take the "Guiding Framework" online training.
  • Select three classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column. 
  • Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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 - Peer Review
Activity #2 [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.
Assignment - Continue improving your article

Exercise

Add links to your article

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.

Milestones

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

Week 10

Course meetings
Thursday, 20 October 2022
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

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!
Assignment - Fourth Hour Justification
Add Images to an Article
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 - Finals Presentation [Lightening Talk]

Parameters TBA

Presentations take place from 10:30-12:30 p.m.

 

Assignment - Reflective essay

Guiding questions

Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.