Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Courses/U.S. Political Parties (Shamira Gelbman)/Timeline

Timeline
''This timeline focuses on events and deadlines for the state parties and platforms project. For information about other course assignments and events, see the syllabus.''

First week of class (August 23-25)

 * In class
 * Introductions and information about the state parties and platforms project. We'll also talk about Federalist Paper #10, which you should have read before class on Thursday, August 25.

Get yourself set up on Wikipedia (Tuesday, August 30)

 * Before class
 * 1) Complete the start-of-semester survey (follow the link that will be sent to your ISU email account).
 * 2) Read the Welcome to Wikipedia pamphlet and Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles.
 * 3) If you don't already have one, create a Wikipedia user account and start your user page. These resources provide step-by-step guidance: Video on creating an account and Account and user page creation handout.
 * 4) Make at least one improvement to either the Illinois State University article, the article about your hometown, or an article about any other school you have attended. These resources provide guidance on the code used to format content on Wikipedia: Wikimarkup cheatsheet and Video on basic editing.
 * 5) Introduce yourself to one of the class's Online or Campus Ambassadors and at least one of your classmates by leaving messages on their talk pages. See the Talk pages tutorial video for guidance.
 * 6) "Check in" to the course by adding your user name to the "students" section at the bottom of this page.


 * Extra credit
 * 5 bonus points for being one of the first 10 survey respondents.
 * 10 bonus points for exemplary work on parts 3 and 4 of the assignment.


 * Milestone:
 * Students have Wikipedia user accounts, have practiced editing and communicating on Wikipedia, and are listed on the course page.

Project training (September 6-8)

 * Before class
 * For Tuesday, September 6: Read the Referencing handout.
 * For Thursday, September 8:
 * Print several copies of your assigned article. Bring one to class and put the others aside for use in later assignments. Alternatively, print and bring one copy to class and save (and back up) screen shots of the article for future use.
 * Based on what you have learned in Tuesday's library instruction session, prepare and print out (and bring to class!) an initial bibliography of at least two potentially useful sources in addition to your state party's official website.
 * Read the Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure.
 * Bring a copy of the Referencing: Wikicode handout to class with you.


 * In class
 * Tuesday, September 6: Library instruction session with |Chad Kahl, the Politics and Government subject librarian. This is also when you'll find out which state party organization's article you'll be working on. Class meets in 213c Milner Library.
 * Thursday, September 8: During class, the Campus Ambassadors will review the anatomy of Wikipedia articles and how to distinguish between good & bad articles. They'll also help you set up a personal "sandbox" where you can keep notes and drafts and learn how references are cited in Wikipedia. Class meets in 216 Schroeder Hall.


 * Extra credit
 * 10 bonus points for exemplary work on your initial bibliography


 * Milestone
 * Students know how to cite references and are prepared to begin assessing the quality and developing plans for substantially improving their assigned articles.

Needs assessment and article development plan (Tuesday, October 4)

 * Before class
 * 1) Prepare a needs assessment (NA) for your assigned state party article. It should contain
 * 2) *A completed "evaluating article quality" rubric
 * 3) *A 250-500 word description of the articles's quality
 * 4) *A checklist of improvement needs
 * 5) Prepare an article development plan (ADP). It should contain
 * 6) *A 250-500 word description of your planned improvements (this should correspond to your NA's checklist of improvement needs)
 * 7) *A preliminary bibliography of sources you plan to use in making those improvements
 * 8) *A timeline of your planned improvements
 * 9) Print and bring your NA and ADP to class to class, along with a copy of your assigned article.


 * In class
 * Peer- and self-review of NA and ADP.
 * Policy committee meetings.
 * Last-minute logistics for Thursday's "Downtown Bloomington and the founding of the Illinois Republican Party" tour.


 * After class
 * Revise and submit your NA and ADP no later than 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 5. They should be contained in a single Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file and sent as an email attachment to sgelbman@ilstu.edu.
 * You'll receive feedback via email by Monday, October 10.


 * Extra credit
 * 50, 25, and 10 bonus points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place NA and ADPs in each section.


 * Milestone
 * Students have completed a needs assessment and article development plan and are ready to begin improving their articles.

1-month progress report (November 8-10)
For Tuesday, November 8
 * Before class
 * Click on your assigned article's "View history" tab, select the last revision before you started working on the article and the current revision and hit "Compare selected revisions." Print a copy of the resulting comparison.
 * Prepare and print a progress report that contains:
 * A copy of your improvement needs checklist from October, marked and annotated to indicate which needed improvements have been made
 * An honest self-assessment of how well you have stuck to the ADP you submitted in October
 * A new evaluation of the article's quality
 * An updated ADP for the remainder of the semester
 * Bring the printouts to class.

For Thursday, November 10
 * Send your progress report as a single Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file attached to an email to sgelbman@ilstu.edu no later than 11:59 PM. You'll get feedback via email by Monday, November 15.
 * Prepare and bring any necessary materials for your policy committee meeting.

Tuesday, November 8
 * In class
 * Self- and peer-review of progress reports and current article versions
 * Wikipedia skills workshop with Campus Ambassadors
 * Class meets in 216 SCH

Thursday, November 10
 * Policy committee meetings


 * Extra credit
 * 10 bonus points for achieving or exceeding improvements stipulated in October's ADP
 * 50 bonus points for winning your section's "most improved article" award


 * Milestone
 * Students have made some substantial improvements to their assigned articles and reassessed their plans for further improvements

Party convention week (November 29-December 1)
Details TBA.

Individual presentations (December 6-8)

 * Before class
 * Read Toastmasters' "10 Tips for Public Speaking".
 * Prepare a 1-2 minute informative presentation about something in your assigned article. Like the entries in the "Did you know..." section of Wikipedia's main page, your presentation should aim at getting people interested enough in your article to check it out on their own.


 * In class
 * We'll discuss the previous week's party convention
 * You'll give a brief (2 minutes max) informative presentation about something in your assigned article.


 * Extra credit
 * 10 bonus points for giving an exemplary presentation

Portfolio submission (Thursday, December 15)

 * By no later than 5 PM on Thursday, December 15:
 * Submit your end-of-semester portfolio. If I'm not in my office (405 SCH) when you come to drop it off, you can leave it for me in the Politics and Government Department office (401 SCH). Your portolio should contain:
 * A cover letter that reflects on your learning experience
 * Printouts of the article as you encountered it in September and as it currently appears
 * A printout of the needs assessment, preliminary bibliography, and article development plan you submitted in October
 * A copy of the 1-month progress report you submitted in November
 * A new progress report, including an assessment of the article's current quality
 * Send Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) files with your cover letter and new progress report as email attachments to sgelbman@ilstu.edu.
 * Complete the end-of-semester survey (follow the link that will be sent to your ISU email account)


 * Extra credit
 * 25-100 bonus points for articles that score 16-26 points on the quantitative article quality metric.


 * Milestone
 * Students have finished all their coursework on Wikipedia and have submitted portfolios containing reflective cover letters and documentation of their articles' progress.

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