User:Maidmarian55/sandbox

The following sandbox entries relate to this course. --Maidmarian55 (talk) 02:18, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

I'm creating this sandbox for my coursework. I made one edit to the Dona Ana article but really wanted to edit in its entirety. At one point I must have hit something and all of the errors were underlined in red automatically. I need to play around with this alot more because I'm not at all certain that Im doing this correctly. I think I'm getting this but still feel like I'm all over the place. Any and all feedback is welcome:)--Maidmarian55 (talk) 23:36, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

The wikipedia training article is very thorough and straightforward. I don't think it's meant to be used once but rather as a reference guide and resource. I'm sure that I will refer back to the training as I move forward. The videos were informative as well. Going back over the material will be important for me to get a better grasp of "the rules" of wikipedia. The article really points out the setup of wiki but the more information the better.--Maidmarian55 (talk) 22:46, 18 January 2014 (UTC) Oops forgot to sign..when that happens do you use Edit Summary?


 * I think that it helps to use the Edit Summary on everything that I do because next week or next month I can scan those remarks in the history tab to see what I was doing. Also, other users that are watching my page will see in their watch list what I said I did. Finally, I appreciate it when other editors make a summary entry so I can understand what they did. Click here to see my watch list with a few entries. --Joe (talk) 05:49, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Wikipedia - plagiarism and more LSC 255

The Wikipedia article from The Signpost entitled Let's Get Serious About Plagiarism quotes the Wikipedia article on plagiarism to define plagiarism as "the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as one's own original work." Plagiarism is a serious issue for any one person or group concerned about intellectual integrity. To claim another person's work as your own is dishonest and disrespectful of the community in which you are involved. For Wikipedia, it is an issue of public authority. For Wikipedia to be taken seriously, plagiarism cannot be tolerated.

Close paraphrasing is considered to be a type of plagiarism. It is not acceptable to slightly alter copyrighted material or to use different but similar phrasing without properly citing the original author. It may not technically be plagiarism to directly copy or paraphrase works in the public domain, but the moral issue of presenting someone's else work as your own remains.

Copyright violations are yet another type of plagiarism. Wikipedia strives to achieve articles that may be freely redistributed without copyright infringement. Copyrighted text may not be copied from on source into Wikipedia. Brief use of copyrighted material must be properly cited whether or not it is a direct quote or paraphrased.

Using and understanding the tabs proved to be troublesome for me today as you know. I'm not certain of the differences between Editing User(in the sandbox) or using the talk button for the best means of communication. While in talk, is it edit talk? Just feeling a little confused and now apprehensive to poke around. The project page and the read page are straightforward and easy to follow. I like the edit page but want to know more of how editing works within Wikipedia. I am really looking forward to learning as much as I can so I can continue after this class. View History tab is very useful not only for that particular article or entry but maybe another editor's article on a different topic when you go to their user name. I haven't used the move or watch tab very much yet but have just finished reading ofWikipedia:Identifying and using primary and secondary sources the watchlist features. I'm beginning to understand the tabs a little more than I did before starting the assignment. There is no Edit Summary as an actual tab but I find that to be a very useful tool as well.--75.173.140.58 (talk) 05:21, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

What I practiced
Some of the things I practiced were looking at the history tab. I continued using different tabs and links as I read through the Anthony, NM article. For comparison I decided to go to the Rio Rancho, NM Wikipedia page since that is where I live. I noticed within the article, in the media section, that the link to our local newspaper, The Rio Rancho Observer, was colored red. I knew that was the indicator that the page doesn't exist. Clicking on the edit button revealed that someone has indeed commented about the Rio Rancho Observer and it's functions in the community. It was interesting to read what other city articles had in their boxes. For instance, I would never have known to look for the FIPS and GNIS links :)

Articles I Read

 * Las Cruces, New Mexico
 * Dona Ana County
 * Pima Community College
 * New Mexico State University
 * Thomas Branigan Memorial Library

Readiness for finding an article to edit or create
I'm starting to feel comfortable about editing an article or talk page. I'm not too sure about citations. I don't think I'm ready to create my own page or article or a new section on a talk page. I will continue to poke and feel my way around until I'm comfortable being an editor or contributor.--Maidmarian55 (talk) 04:20, 25 January 2014 (UTC)--Maidmarian55 (talk) 04:23, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

What I Read
I found the Wikipedia article Identifying and using primary and secondary sources to be the most concise and useful article that I read. The distinctions and differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary are clearly defined from an academic standpoint and examples are given to illustrate these concepts applied to various circumstances. I thought the discussion of news-media sources as primary or secondary was very interesting. I am frustrated though by how ambiguous much of the writing can be in Wikipedia articles. Many statements include qualifiers such as could, might, sometimes,not necessarily.

Practice Inserting a Citation
The following Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park entry is an example that I mostly copied from Oklahoma City. The example is for this course. I added some additional information without references for now.

Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park
Oklahoma City has a skate park named after Mat Hoffman - a famous BMX rider. The skate park is now Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park and allows skateboards, bmx bikes, scooters, and roller blades. It was named in a National Geographic Travel guide as one of the 10 best in 2009.

Six Ideas
These are six things I'm currently thinking about:
 * Medical Marijuana Issues


 * I'm interested in the legal and commercial issues vs. cultural and medical issues.


 * History of the Carnegie Library in Roswell, NM (Most Favored)


 * I'm curious about the development of a Carnegie library and how it fell into disuse. The webpage for the library doesn't have any information about its history or original building that was built with the Carnegie grant. The building is now vacant because the library moved to a more modern building. There is a Wikipedia article that lists Carnegie libraries by state but doesn't have much more information.List_of_Carnegie_libraries_in_New_MexicoI may be tilting at windmills because I would like to humanize the library's story which might not be analytical enough for Wikipedia. I also noticed that there isn't a Wikipedia article about the Roswell Public Library or much history at their own website.www.roswellpubliclibrary.org


 * Translating Articles
 * I want to know how send friends in other countries a translated article.


 * Learn More About Userboxes


 * Is this a way to share personal interests with other readers?


 * Lucid Dreaming (Next Most Favored)


 * The topic fascinates me. I want to know if this is a form of meditation or altered consciousness. I want to know if it is always self directed or includes involvement of others. It is something that I think I am aware of as I dream. I want to learn more but I'm not sure what my approach would be. There is already a lot of material on Wikipedia.Lucid_dreaming


 * Learn more about Wiki-how


 * I think this is an awesome way to share information.

--Maidmarian55 (talk) 02:57, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Article To Create

 * I want to create an article about the history of the Carnegie library in Roswell, NM. There doesn't seem to a Wikipedia article of any sort about the Roswell library in general. I realize that larger project could be a Wikipedia page about the library in general which would include a history of the library but I prefer to write about the Carnegie library and the building that housed it. I would like to include some personal experiences about the library from people who used the library but I know that might be difficult to find or not desirable. I guess this could also be an edit to the Wikipedia page about Carnegie libraries.List of Carnegie libraries in New Mexico.There is a very useful web page that includes a historical timeline for the [library.http://www.roswell-usa.com/city/library/history.html |library] This could be referenced in the article and used as a basis for the article. I think that the Carnegie project was one of the most incredible philanthropic projects ever. I'm just starting to learn about it but it really interests me.


 * There is very interesting project page called WikiProject:New Mexico that might be an appropriate venue for this project.WikiProject_New_Mexico I also noticed that there isn't photo of the library on the Wikipedia page List_of_Carnegie_libraries_in_New_Mexico. I have found several photographs of the library that could be added to the page. I didn't find very many talk references.

--Maidmarian55 (talk) 04:08, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

The contents of this page is related to this course.

History of the Carnegie Library in Roswell, NM
Outline to follow --Maidmarian55 (talk) 04:29, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

Recommendations To Improve Wikipedia Course LSC 255
I am a very visual person. I would like to have seen more examples of the editing and formatting process. A sample Wikipedia article that included the basics of formatting and lots of citation examples would be useful. As a learning tool, I found being able to switch from “read” to “edit” very instructional. A sample article with clear examples of the basics would be a good learning tool. Sometimes in an online course I start wishing there was more printed material. I’m still a little (a lot) old school and the rigors of reviewing something on a computer screen is sometimes more difficult for me than looking at a printed page on a piece of paper. This probably is a personal idiosyncrasy in my learning schematic.

I think it would be interesting and fun to have the classmates collaborate on one article. The project could begin with an instructor originated article that needs both editing and new content. It would be a project that is representative of the spirit of Wikipedia. I think it could be integrated into the course just taken or it might be a good scenario for a sequel to LSC 255. About halfway through the course it might be helpful to have an online question and answer session with the instructor and all of the students participating. It would be a chance for everyone to interact, creating more of a feeling of group endeavor. I know that I learn from hearing the answers to questions posed by classmates that I might not have thought to ask myself. It would give everyone a chance to get better acquainted with each other. I realize that there might be scheduling conflicts or other difficulties because of the nature of online courses.

I learned a lot in this course. I thought the syllabus was clearly written. The assignments were specific and encouraged learning and exploration. I like that some of the assignments required a little self-directed exploration. I appreciate that the instructor made himself so easily accessible. There were times when I really needed some help and he was always quick and generous with his time. I wish that some of the assignments had been posted more quickly in order to work ahead. Overall, I think the course was well conducted and organized. Maidmarian55 (talk) 03:39, 8 March 2014 (UTC)