Wikipedia:Canada Education Program/Courses/Language Acquisition (Paula Marentette)/Timeline

Jan 10: Wikipedia Essentials

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


 * Assignment (due Jan 19)
 * Read Welcome to Wikipedia and Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles
 * Create a Wikipedia account, create a user page, and add yourself to the course page. Video on creating an account, Account and user page creation handout

Jan 19: Editing basics workshop

 * In Library Classroom, Jorden Smith will introduce us to:
 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good & bad articles


 * Helpful Links: Talk pages tutorial video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure,, Wikimarkup cheatsheet


 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to one of the class's Online Ambassadors (via talk page), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.


 * Assignment (due January 26)
 * Make 10 short edits (fixing typos or grammar) on any pages that interest you.
 * Find an entry (preferably on the class related pages) that you can improve by adding a citation. Locate an appropriate source and bring it to the workshop on Jan 26.

Jan 26: Citation and Referencing Workshop

 * In Library Classroom, Jorden Smith will introduce us to citation and referencing in Wikipedia
 * Handouts and videos: Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video, Advice for choosing articles


 * Assignment (due February 2)
 * Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class (see suggestions on Course Page), and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's discussion page.

Feb 2: Choosing articles

 * In class
 * We will discuss the possible articles we will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.
 * Come to class prepared with opinions about which articles we should work on (selected from the superset noted on the Course Page).
 * Article revisions will be done collaboratively with groups of 2 or 3 students working on each article. Wikipedia is a collaborative environment. By working with your classmates you have some idea that people will respond in the time frame you need for the course! We will form groups in class.


 * Assignments (for February 9)
 * Sign up for your article on the course page.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Feb 9: Drafting starter articles

 * In class
 * We will talk about Wikipedia culture & etiquette
 * We will talk about knowledge translation and the goal of writing for the public
 * I will introduce the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Video resource: Sandbox tutorial
 * Assignments (Feb 28)
 * If your group is starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article (with citations) in a Wikipedia sandbox. If your group is 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 working with your group and Online Ambassadors to polish your short starter article and fix any major transgressions of Wikipedia norms.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.


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

March 6: Did you know

 * In class
 * Handout: Moving into main space, Submitting articles to Did You Know


 * Wiki assignments (Festival of Teaching Live Poster: March 12)
 * I will submit our class for a live poster during the University of Alberta's Festival of Teaching. If we are accepted, then during the allocated time, it would be great to have as many of you on-line as possible working on your assignments. You would be in Camrose. The poster viewers in Edmonton would just watch the articles shift and change. We will discuss this in class.
 * Move sandbox articles into main space.
 * For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence "hook," nominate it for "Did you know," and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.


 * Wiki assignments (due March 15)
 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

March 15: Building articles

 * In class
 * We will discuss article ratings on Wikipedia as well as what we need to do to shape our articles for Good Article nominations
 * As a group we will review the articles being worked on in the class.
 * Handouts and videos: Uploading images handout, Uploading files to Wikimedia Commons video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure (handed out originally in week 2), Article assessments video, Evolution of an article video


 * In class


 * Wiki assignments (March 17)
 * Summarize the class review of your classmates' article. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the reviewed article.


 * Milestone
 * All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

March 22: Responding to feedback

 * In class
 * Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia


 * Wiki assignments (March 22)
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
 * Nominate your article for Good Article status.

March 23 and ongoing: Response to Good Article Nominations

 * Wiki assignments (due April 12)
 * Respond to issues raised from Good Article reviews.
 * Write a reflective essay (2-3 pages) on your Wikipedia experience and contributions.

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