Wikipedia:Canada Education Program/Courses/Present/Contemporary Research in Personality (John Zelenski)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia Essentials

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


 * Assignment (due week 2)
 * Read Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles
 * Read Welcome to Wikipedia (available online from the Wikimedia Foundation)
 * Read Why Wikipedia is the best resource on the internet as a way to get to know Melicans and learn a bit more about Wikipedia.

Week 2: Editing basics

 * In class
 * Basics of editing
 * 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

Review handouts and videos: Video on creating an account, Talk pages tutorial video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure, Account and user page creation handout, Wikimarkup cheatsheet
 * Assignments (due week 3)
 * Create a Wikipedia account, create a user page, and sign up on the list of students on the course page.
 * 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.


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

Week 3: Exploring the topic area

 * In class
 * Discuss topic choice: Advice for choosing articles
 * Assignments (due week 4):
 * Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's discussion page.
 * Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. (WikiProject Psychology may be helpful in browsing or developing topics, e.g., consult How_to_write_a_psychology_article or the Assessment table.)

Week 4: Using sources

 * In class
 * Discuss Plagiarism, sources, citations


 * Assignment (due week 5)
 * Review handouts and videos: Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.


 * For next week
 * Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by week 5.
 * Students working towards preferred topic and sources.

Week 5: Choosing articles

 * In class
 * Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.


 * Assignments (due week 6)
 * Select an article to work on, and put that article in the table below.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research. Begin reading the sources.

Week 6: Drafting starter articles

 * In class
 * Instructor talks about Wikipedia culture & etiquette, and introduce the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Q&A session with instructor and/or Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
 * Assignments (due week 7)
 * Video resource: Sandbox tutorial
 * If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article (with citations) in your Wikipedia sandbox. If 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 working with classmates 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.

Week 7: Did you know

 * In class
 * Discuss Did You Know process; see also Handout: Moving into main space, Submitting articles to Did You Know


 * Wiki assignments (due week 8)
 * Move sandbox articles into main space.
 * For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, consider speaking with Instructor or Ambassador about a "Did you know" nomination.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 8: Building articles

 * Outside of class
 * Explore additional features:
 * Handouts and videos: Uploading images handout, Uploading files to Wikimedia Commons video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure (originally in week 2), Article assessments video, Evolution of an article video


 * Wiki assignments (due week 9)
 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 9: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class
 * Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (Ensure full coverage of projects.)


 * Wiki assignments (due week 10)
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


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

Week 10: Responding to feedback

 * In class
 * Check in on article progress, questions, concerns, etc.


 * Wiki assignments (due week 11)
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
 * Consider speaking with Instructor or Ambassador about Good Article status.

Week 11: Class discussion

 * In class
 * Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, impact and limits of Wikipedia, personal experiences.


 * Wiki assignments (due week 12)
 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
 * Write a reflective essay (2-5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 12: Due date
You made it!


 * Milestone
 * Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading, and have submitted reflective essays.

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