Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Cyberlaw (Brian Carver)/Timeline

Timeline
'''This is Wikipedia's example syllabus, slightly modified. Our deadlines are on our syllabus. Ignore these where they conflict.'''

Wikipedia Essentials

 * In class
 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Handout: Welcome to Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wikimedia Foundation)


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

Editing basics

 * In class
 * Introduce:
 * 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
 * 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
 * (See this and this for example assignments.)


 * Create a Wikipedia account, create a user page, and sign up on the list of students on the course page.


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

Exploring the topic area

 * In class
 * Handout: Advice for choosing articles
 * Assignments
 * Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's discussion page. Articles listed on Brian's userspace would be good candidates.
 * Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project.

Using sources

 * In class
 * Handouts and videos: Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video


 * Assignment
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Choosing articles

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


 * Assignments
 * Select an article to work on.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to your sandbox or the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Drafting starter articles

 * In class
 * Instructor talks about Wikipedia culture & etiquette, and introduce the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing
 * Video resource: Sandbox tutorial
 * Assignments
 * 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 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.

Did you know

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


 * Wiki assignments
 * Move sandbox articles into main space.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
 * For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, the first reviewer composes a one-sentence "hook," nominates it for "Did you know," and monitors the nomination for any issues identified by other editors.

Building articles

 * In class or outside of class
 * Article ratings on Wikipedia & how to get there
 * Uploading images, and adding images to articles
 * 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


 * Wiki assignments
 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
 * Sign up to be a 1st and 2nd reviewer for two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit.

Getting and giving feedback; Copy Editing

 * In class
 * As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.


 * Wiki assignments
 * Copy-edit your selected article using Brian's 15-point checklist for 1st reviewers. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.


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

Peer Review and Responding to feedback

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


 * Wiki assignments
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
 * Peer review your classmates' article using Brian's guidelines for 2nd reviewers. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Optionally nominate article for Good Article status.


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

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