Wikipedia:Meetup/Boston/WP101MIT

= Wikipedia 101: How to be a media literate citizen =

Overview
Recent events have caused us to question, more than ever before, the validity of information gathered from the web. But Wikipedia, now in its 15th year, remains an online space where accuracy, neutrality, and fair representation matters. Growing the network of volunteer editors to contribute to Wikipedia (the largest collaborative writing project in history!) is one way to ensure that high quality information is freely available to all.

This three-day workshop will train participants to become competent Wikipedia editors, and along the way they will cultivate a greater understanding of how to evaluate a range of sources, from the popular news media, to institutional archives, to peer reviewed journals.

Please bring your laptop!
 * Our slide deck

Register
Note that you are not required to register or sign this event page.
 * You have the option to use This Link to sign up for a Wikipedia account (or sign in with your existing one), and join our Event Dashboard.

Participant list
Please add your Wikipedia username below



Click "edit source." Add the # sign (to continue numbering.)

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 * 1) Rtbhive (talk) 16:14, 15 January 2017 (UTC)
 * 2) laurfish (talk) 16:35, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
 * 3) Amyc29 (talk) 16:28, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
 * 4) JMPerron (talk) 16:29, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
 * 5) plr123(talk) 11:39, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
 * 6) Bjami2004 (talk) 16:44, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

= FAQ = How reliable is Wikipedia? Who edits Wikipedia? Also worth knowing about
 * Check out Accuracy of content
 * Check out Wikipedia
 * Wikipedia is a work in progress: perfection is not required
 * The perfect article

= Thinking like a Wikipedian = Basic guidelines, communication customs, editing customs

The focus here is on developing your "Wikipedia hat," so you can read and evaluate Wikipedia articles based on Wikipedia's standards, not those from your own areas of expertise. (n.b.: Modified from exercise created by User:AmandaRR123)

Read over the following Wikipedia policy/guideline pages, and then use what you've learned to evaluate one of the articles listed.

(Hint: Read "nutshells" and intros most carefully, then skim the rest of each policy/guideline page. That will give you the sense you need.)


 * The five pillars of Wikipedia
 * The perfect article
 * Identifying reliable sources
 * Neutral point of view
 * Be bold
 * Your first article
 * What Wikipedia is not
 * Manual of Style

''Articles to evaluate: pick one, and use your new "Wikipedia hat" to evaluate them. How might they be improved?''


 * Wu Qing (politician)
 * Mehrangiz Manouchehrian
 * Mel King
 * Judith Frank
 * Patricia Santana

Rating and Communicating on Wikipedia
 * What Class Labels mean (Featured Article, C-Class, Start-Class, etc.): Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment
 * The perfect article
 * Talk page guidelines

= Some options for making your first edit = Citation Hunt: A tool from Wikimedia Foundation Labs to help where citation needed

Some articles for 20th century Women Politicians to edit or expand.

Yenwith K. Whitney is an "Orphan," needs to be linked from other pages. (Done! Rtbhive (talk) 16:38, 18 January 2017 (UTC))

= Training to edit Wikipedia =
 * Cheatsheet
 * Featured Articles
 * Policies and guidelines
 * Help:Getting started
 * Starting an article

Going forward: some resources to help you determine what and how to contribute

 * WikiProject
 * What Class Labels mean (Featured Article, C-Class, Start-Class, etc.): Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment
 * Portals on wikipedia
 * Missing articles
 * Stubs
 * Most-wanted articles
 * Translating
 * Red links
 * Women in Red

Good Digital Citizenship and Activism in Wikipedia: Underrepresented Groups and Topics
written by User:AmandaRR123, February 2016

Problem: Wikipedia is a globally distributed network where judgement of quality is not based around contributor expertise, but rather work according to the standards of the project itself -- the most legible unit of work is a good citation. As one of the oldest communities on the Internet, Wikipedia gives students to a chance to practice good digital citizenship: use their critical thinking skills to discover community values, norms and styles of communication, and contribute in a way that will make sense to other community members.

However, Wikipedia can, like many other communities, have a bias towards the status quo. Therefore, those working on issues related to underrepresented groups can expect to be accused of activism, bias, an agenda, as if those things do not already exist on Wikipedia

Digital citizenship is doubly important to those working on issues related to underrepresented groups: one must know how to communicate effectively using community standards to convince the Wikipedian community that changes in the status quo does not automatically equal violating policy, and that you are still partners in the same goal of wanting to improve the encyclopedia.

Resources we can draw from

 * WorldCat, via MIT Libraries
 * MIT Libraries Anthropology & Archaeology Research Guide
 * Google News
 * Google Books
 * Google Scholar Note! You can synchronize Google Scholar with the MIT Library. Check it out!
 * Better Googling: MIT Libraries Google search tips