Wikipedia:Canada Education Program/Courses/Environment and Society (Grant Aylesworth)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia Essentials

 * In class
 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course

Week 3: Editing basics

 * In class
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good & bad articles
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
 * "Handouts" and videos: Video on creating an account, Talk pages tutorial video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality, Account and user page creation handout, Wikimarkup cheatsheet
 * Please note that "Handouts" will not be given out in class, the term "hadnout" is used on this course page to refer to a PDF that you can download and print if you like.

Week 4: Exploring the topic area

 * In class
 * Discussion of the range of topics available to students.


 * Research and list 2-3 articles as potential editing candidates and email the instructor with your choices. These articles must be related to the subject of the course.

Week 5: Choosing articles
If you are still having trouble finding an article to work on:
 * "Handout" Advice for choosing articles

Week 6: Starting a Wikipedia account, practice
Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video
 * "Handouts" and videos: Welcome to Wikipedia (just a reminder - "handouts" are not given in class, they are here for you to download and print if you wish).


 * Create a Wikipedia account and create a user page. If you need help creating an account, see the video on creating an account. Consider how much you want to reveal about yourself - please consider NOT using your real name.
 * Practice: Make your first edit by adding yourself to the list of students on this course page - you will find the list at the bottom, with an "Edit" link on the right side of the page.


 * Milestone:
 * All students have Wikipedia user accounts and have listed their usernames on the course page.


 * For next week
 * Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by week 7. Make sure you have submitted 2-3 article choices.

Week 7: Did you know

 * "Handout": Submitting articles to Did You Know. This is optional.


 * Read Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles.


 * Begin compiling a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. You should be looking for at least 4-5 external sources.


 * Add your article to the List of User Names, Articles, and Reviewers, which you will find below.

Week 8: Revising articles (Week of Independent Study)

 * Since you are improving an existing article, write a summary version reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article's talk page.


 * Begin expanding your article into a more thorough treatment of the topic.


 * "Handouts" and videos: Uploading images handout, Uploading files to Wikimedia Commons video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure, Article assessments video, Evolution of an article video


 * Wiki assignments (due Week 10)
 * Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don't need to start reviewing yet.) Make sure you add your user name as a reviewer in an available slot in the table of articles and user names below.


 * Milestone
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts of changes on Wikipedia. Most of this will be done on the article's talk page.

Week 9: Read some of the work of your colleagues
In your small group discussions, identify who is working on what and take a look at a couple of the articles being worked on by others in your group. Prepare some suggestions that will help your colleagues and that you can discuss in your small groups next week.
 * In class

Week 10: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class
 * In your groups, offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles that you read last week. Help your colleagues to set the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopaedia article.


 * Wiki assignments
 * If you need to, take another look at Evaluating Wikipedia article quality.
 * By next week, complete a review of two of your classmates' articles. Review assignments are based on reviewers adding their user name as a reviewer in the table below. We can have only two reviewers per article, and each student is to choose two articles to review. Using your knowledge of Wikipedia and what makes an article better, reviewers will leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * If you notice grammatical or typographical errors, reviewers can copy-edit the reviewed articles on the article page or make these suggestions for edits on the talk page.


 * Milestone (by next week)
 * All articles have been reviewed by 2 other students.

Week 11: Responding to feedback

 * Wiki assignments
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
 * "Handout": Submitting articles to Did You Know. Consider nominating your article, which is optional.
 * If you think your article is up to it, nominate your article for Good Article status.
 * Prepare for an in-class small groups discussion about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 12: Implementing your final edits

 * In class
 * Students discuss their experiences editing Wikipedia in small groups.


 * Wiki assignments
 * Add final touches to you Wikipedia article. Try to address issues from Good Article reviews (based on your nomination last week), if any have been submitted. Address any remaining comments from your peer reviewers.
 * Write a reflective “One Minute Paper” for your own personal use about your Wikipedia contributions. This is not turned in or graded.

Week 13: Reflective Essay
Write 1-2 pages reflecting on your Wikipedia experience and evaluating the quality of your work and contribution to the Wikipedia activities of the class. This will be uploaded on Moodle as part of the evaluation of this assignment

Week 14: That's all, folks!
You made it!


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

([ Click to return to your main course page and continue.])