User:ChemLibrarian/ENVIRON 367 Global Enterprise and Sustainable Development

This course focuses on how businesses are affecting sustainability and how sustainability is affecting businesses. We will introduce various activities global enterprises are taking to be socially responsible and how these activities gain competitive advantages for them. Students are asked to identify an important topic related to sustainability, and either create or substantially improve a Wikipedia article on the topic.

Week 1 (2015-01-19):  Wikipedia essentials

 * Overview of the course assignment
 * Slides: Wikipedia Editing Basics for Environ 367 - developed by UM librarian Ye Li, Sue Wortman and Wikipedian Michael Barera. Bring your laptops.


 * 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)
 * Basics of editing
 * 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
 * Handouts: "Illustrating Wikipedia" (pgs 4-7)
 * Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.

Week 2 (2015-01-26):  Editing 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.


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


 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.


 * Add a introduction about yourself to the Talk page of the 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.


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

Week 3 (2015-02-02):  Exploring the topic area

 * 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


 * 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?

Week 4 (2015-02-09):  Using sources and choosing articles

 * Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.
 * Be able to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
 * Research and list 3 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
 * Group finalized. 3 students in each group. Email Ming Xu for permissions to have more or less students in your group. Each group will turn in a 1-page description of their top three topic choices and their reasoning. (Due 2015-02-18.)
 * Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by 2015-02-23.

Week 5 (2015-02-16):  Finalizing topics and starting research

 * Group finalized. 3 students in each group. Email the instructor for permissions to have more or less students in your group. Each group will turn in a 1-page description of their top three topic choices and their reasoning.


 * Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by 2015-02-23.

Week 6 (2015-02-23):  Outlining articles

 * Create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes. Each group will turn in an MS Word outline (2 pages maximum) of their site. The outlines will be reviewed by three students not in your group randomly chosen.
 * Post your outline 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.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.


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

Week 8 (2015-03-09):  Present your topic

 * Groups present topics selected in class.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.
 * Handout: "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)

Week 9 (2015-03-16):  Creating first draft

 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
 * Start to edit the article in your Sandbox and following the Task 1 of this Document Task Summary -- Working with Wikipedia for Environ 367 Winter 2015 to add links to your Sandbox to the Article table on the course page on Wikipedia.

Week 10 (2015-03-23):  Getting and giving feedback

 * Peer review your classmate's outline.


 * Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
 * Following Task 2 of the document Task 1 of this Document Task Summary -- Working with Wikipedia for Environ 367 Winter 2015 to post reviews to the Talk page of the Sandbox of the assigned group to review.

Week 11 (2015-03-30):  Responding to feedback and continue drafting your article

 * 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.
 * Finish drafting your article in the sandbox


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

Week 12 (2015-04-06):  Continuing to improve articles

 * Instructor provide feedback to drafts starting from 2015-04-06
 * 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.
 * Prepare to present your draft to the class on 2015-04-13 and 2015-04-15

Week 13 (2015-04-13):  Continuing to improve articles and present your article to class

 * In-class presentation of your improved article in the sandbox and reflection on your edit experience.


 * 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.

Week 14 (2015-04-20):  Finishing touches

 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.
 * The final draft in Sandbox will be reviewed by the instructor and graded.


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

Week 15 (2015-04-27):  Moving articles to the 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.


 * Move your sandbox articles into main space. (Due 2015-04-27)
 * Check Task 3 of Document Task Summary -- Working with Wikipedia for Environ 367 Winter 2015 and follow instructions there to move your article from the Sandbox to the 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.


 * Respond to suggestions and comments from the Wikipedia community to keep improving your article. (Due 2015-05-01)


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