User talk:ProfDavis

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 * Thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia!  mabdul (public) 08:26, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Talkback
Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 22:25, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Class Project
Hi:

I created your page at West Wetlands Park (Yuma, AZ). NB there's still significant work to do on this page, above all to make it more like an encyclopedia article and less like a series of lists.

It would also be good if you could document this class project more. At present, it seems that there is just one editor involved apart from you: User:InezAguirre. Is that so? It's good to have some kind of course page, on which you can describe the aims and parameters of the project and its constituent assignments. There are various ways that this can be done, but one is via the Educational Program. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 17:08, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for Help with Class Project
I want to thank you again for helping us out so that we can continue working on the page. I and the class are certainly aware that we have a lot of work to do to have a quality Wikipedia article. The contents that are on the page now are a result of a couple of processes. The class as a group worked on the activities section based upon research that each student had done into various types of activities. I posted that material toward the end of last month. Groups of students had also researched and discussed three different aspects of the park 1) the original development of the park, 2) habitat restoration and plant life, and 3) animal species. Inez Aguirre, who is the most technically proficient student in the class, posted the notes from each of those groups into the article. Virtually every student in the class has contributed to the project, but it was hard to have each student individually post material. Now that we have the page up and running, I am hoping that students will be able to make contributions to the page on their own time so that all the students will be listed as editing it.

I should add that I am a 65-year-old English professor who is most definitely not tech savvy. Our department, however, has decided to renovate our freshman English courses, and I wanted to try a project that would interest students and be relevant to their world and our world as a whole. I realize that I have been flailing about sometimes over the course of the semester, but I do feel like the class has been a learning experience for all of us. I hope that we will finish the semester with an article worthy of Wikipedia.

ProfDavis (talk) 22:25, 16 April 2013 (UTC) ProfDavis


 * Hello again, ProfD. It does look as though you guys still have a few things to learn about Wikipedia.  But that's OK.  Good for you for giving it a try!  I do think it would be help if students opened an account (they don't have to use their real name, and perhaps it's better if they don't).  It would also be helpful if you created some kind of course page that could both document what you are trying to do (and for instance indicate which articles you will be working on and who will be working on it) as well as serving as a focal point for discussion and help.  For any questions, feel free to drop a note on my talkpage. I'm certainly happy to help out. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 02:15, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Class Page
I believe that the majority of the students already have (at least they should have) a Wikipedia account. I don't know their names in Wikipedia, however.

Let me know about setting up the class page. Unfortunately, we don't have much time left this semester and we have a ton of work to do to make our entry acceptable.

I have one additional question. Is it possible for one person to be editing one section of an entry and another person to be editing a different section, or can only one person be editing anywhere in the article at a time?

Thanks again,

ProfDavis (talk) 20:21, 17 April 2013 (UTC)ProfDavis


 * 1) I think it would be useful for everyone concerned to collect the usernames of your students. Regarding a class page, the quickest way is simply to create a page in your own userspace.  In fact, I've been bold enough to make on here.  You might also get on to User:Sage Ross (WMF) about having a more official page.  I'll drop him a line.
 * 2) So long as people are editing different sections, then this is not a problem. If they are editing the same section, or if one is editing the entire page, then you will probably get "edit conflicts."  This can be a bit of a pain, so is worth avoiding.  But it's also unlikely, so long as you don't have everyone editing at the same time (during class time, for instance).  If you do, you may want to do something to ensure that only one person is editing at any one point. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 20:31, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi ProfDavis. I'll go ahead and assign you the "course instructor" user right so that you can set up a structured course page (which offers some additional automated features to help keep track of what your students are working on, versus the basic one Jbmurray set up). You can check out the course pages section of the 'Training for educators' for instructions on setting up one of these course pages (and you may find some of the earlier sections useful as well). If you have any questions related to the course page system, drop me a line.--Sage Ross (WMF) (talk) 20:42, 17 April 2013 (UTC)