Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/U of Maryland/Graphic Design and Rhetoric (Fall 2020)
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- Course name
- Graphic Design and Rhetoric
- Institution
- U of Maryland
- Instructor
- Melanie Kill
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Course dates
- 2020-09-01 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-11 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
An exploration of the visual dimensions of texts and the skills involved in designing them well. Considers graphic design theory and history from a rhetorical perspective, working to understand and practice the use of symbol systems to express, inform, and advocate. Includes direct experimentation with the principles and techniques of graphic design.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 1 September 2020 | Thursday, 3 September 2020
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 8 September 2020 | Thursday, 10 September 2020
- Introduction to the Wikipedia Project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project timeline! If you are here, you've successfully created an account and joined this course page using the enrollment link that I (Dr. Kill) shared with you.
This timeline page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete as we progress through this project. Using the tabs in the menu across the top of this page, you can also get an overview of our collective efforts (Home), find your classmates on Wikipedia (Students), view the articles we are editing (Articles), view files we've uploaded to Wikimedia Commons (Uploads), check recent activity (Activity), and find additional Wiki Ed resources and training modules (Resources).
Our class has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Any time you have a question about Wikipedia, you can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 15 September 2020 | Thursday, 17 September 2020
- Listen to Wikipedia
Before we dive into policies and page types, I recommend spending a few minutes listening to Wikipedia. It is really quite a beautiful way to get a sense of how Wikipedia is made.
About: Listen to the sound of Wikipedia's recent changes feed. Bells indicate additions and string plucks indicate subtractions. Pitch changes according to the size of the edit; the larger the edit, the deeper the note. Green circles show edits from unregistered contributors, and purple circles mark edits performed by automated bots. You may see announcements for new users as they join the site, punctuated by a string swell. You can welcome him or her by clicking the blue banner and adding a note on their talk page.
- Handbooks
We'll use the following guides this semester. Begin to get oriented by reading the opening pages of each:
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 22 September 2020 | Thursday, 24 September 2020
- Assignment - Learn the basics
This week you'll learn about Wikipedia's core policies and the pages where editors draft, discuss, and keep tabs on articles.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 29 September 2020 | Thursday, 1 October 2020
- Assignment - Get started editing Wikipedia
Now you are ready to get started editing by making some small edits on one or more articles of your choice. Try looking for opportunities to fix punctuation, improve wording, add links to other articles, and so on. Leave an edit summary and publish changes after each small change. Aim for at least 10 edits. When you have 10 or more edits, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Resources:
- ** Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- Wondering where to start?
You might take a look at WikiProject:Guild of Copy Editors to get ideas about where to start. WikiProjects are spaces where editors interested in a particular topic or task organize their efforts.
There is also a list of all articles tagged as needing copy editing.
- Where is my user contributions page?
- Milestones
Congratulations! You're now a Wikipedia editor.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 October 2020 | Thursday, 8 October 2020
- Assignment - Evaluate article images
This week you'll choose a Wikipedia article and consider the role of images in communicating additional information about the topic.
In a post on our ELMS discussion board, share a link to the article you've selected to evaluate along with a paragraph considering the following:
Guiding questions
- How many images are included and what sections of the article do they illustrate?
- Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
- Do the article's images enhance your understanding of the body text?
- Are images well-captioned?
- Are the images laid out in a way that improves the overall visual appeal of the article?
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 13 October 2020 | Thursday, 15 October 2020
- Assignment - Illustrate an article
This week you will improve a Wikipedia article of your choice by enhancing understanding of its text content with an image. To begin, you'll want to select an article that could use an(other) image and then find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to that article.
- Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11.
- When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked above.
- When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org.
- Upload the image to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook.
- Add the image to a Wikipedia article.
Resources:
- ** Video overview: Uploading and Adding Images
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert (listed on the Home tab) if you have any questions.
When you are done, post the following to our ELMS discussion board:
- a link to the new image in Commons and
- a link to the Wikipedia article/section in which the new image now appears.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 20 October 2020 | Thursday, 22 October 2020
- Assignment - Create and add an information graphic
For your final Wikipedia exercise, you'll either 1) try again at last week's task—if your image was deleted or your edit adding the image was reverted, or 2) design, upload, and add to an article an image or information graphic that explains a complex information in a clear way.
Resources:
- ** Video overview: Uploading and Adding Images
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert (listed on the Home tab) if you have any questions.
When you are done, post the following to our ELMS discussion board:
- a link to the new image in Commons and
- a link to the Wikipedia article/section in which the new image now appears.
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 27 October 2020 | Thursday, 29 October 2020
- Assignment - What did you learn from Wikipedia?
Once you have completed each of the trainings and tasks for the previous weeks, it's time to reflect on what you've contributed to Wikipedia and what you've learned about complex information and images from the experience.
Post a 300-500 word reflection to our ELMS discussion board that considers the most relevant of the following questions:
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing images to Wikipedia? How can adding or improving the images in Wikipedia articles improve public understanding of complex information? Why is this important?
- Knowledge gaps: Did your contribution improve Wikipedia's coverage of historically underrepresented or marginalized populations or topics? If so, were there any challenges unique to contributing in these subject areas?
- Evaluating articles with images: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? What different purposes can images serve in an article? What did you find to be some of the most/least useful, most/least interesting, most/least pleasing?
- Summarizing your contributions: Include a quick summary of your edits and why you felt they made a valuable addition to the article. How do the articles you added images to compare to their earlier versions?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished the work they'll do on Wikipedia for this course. I hope you'll keep editing!