Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Independent Research (Kim Barchard)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia Essentials

 * Goals: Create Wikipedia and APSWI accounts. Complete APSWI tutorials 1-4.


 * Before Class
 * Read Welcome to Wikipedia
 * Read Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles


 * In Class Activities
 * Overview of how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Complete Creating a Wikipedia and APSWI Acount
 * Start APSWI tutorials 1-4. These are on the left hand menu, near the bottom, under Resources.


 * Homework
 * Finish APSWI tutorials 1-4.

Week 2: Editing Basics

 * Goals: Learn basic editing.


 * Before Class
 * Watch Talk pages tutorial video
 * Read Wikimarkup cheatsheet
 * Read Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure


 * In Class Activities
 * Sign up on the list of students on the very bottom of this syllabus.
 * 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.
 * Create your own talk page by clicking "My talk".
 * Complete APSWI tutorials 5-11. Remember, these are on the left hand menu, near the bottom, under Resources.


 * Homework
 * Finish APSWI tutorials 5-11.


 * Milestone:
 * All students have Wikipedia and APSWI user accounts and have started editing.

Week 3: Wikipedia Culture

 * Goals: Start learning about Wikipedia culture and copy edit an article.


 * Before Class
 * Read Neutral point of view, read the lead and section 1 titled “Explanation of the point of view”
 * Read No Original Research, read the lead
 * Read Verifiability, read the lead and sections 3.1 and 3.2 titled “Reliable sources” and “Newspaper and magazine blogs”


 * In Class Activities
 * Access the course articles on APSWI.
 * Complete Copy Editing Assignment.


 * Homework
 * Finish Copy Editing Assignment.

Week 4: Choosing articles

 * Goals: Pick articles to improve.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Go to the APS Wikipedia Initiative website. Click on "Course Articles" on the left hand side. Read the leads and skim the body of at least five articles.
 * Select three articles you would like to work on from the articles listed under course articles in APSWI.
 * List these three articles in the section labeled "Articles" after Week 12 at the bottom of this syllabus. Be sure to provide functional links to your username, talk page, and the articles.
 * In Class Activities
 * Talk with other students and with the ambassadors about the articles you read. Evaluate the articles according to the criteria for a good article (covered in week 2). If possible, find other students who are interested in the same articles as you.
 * During class, we will determine the article that you will work on.
 * Milestone
 * Everyone knows what article they are going to work on.

Week 5: Using Sources

 * Goals: Learn how to cite sources


 * Before Class
 * Read Referencing handout
 * Read Referencing: Wikicode handout
 * Read Plagiarism handout
 * Watch Citing sources tutorial video
 * Watch RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video


 * In Class Activities
 * Complete Sourcing Assignment


 * Homework
 * Finish Sourcing Assignment.

Week 6: Envisioning final articles

 * Goals: Start editing your article.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Locate additional information about your topic. What's missing?  What would a good article on this topic include?


 * In Class Activities
 * Work with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to write a summary (in Microsoft Word) that describes the content the article will have AFTER it's been improved. Drafting your work in Word allows you to save your file frequently to protect yourself against computer crashes,  polish your writing before posting, and work on your ideas over multiple times.
 * Copy and paste your summary at the end of the article talk page, and introduce this summary by saying that you are working on the content of the article and that this is a summary of the content you think the article should have.


 * Homework
 * If other Wikipedians reply to your post on the talk page, discuss the article with them on the article talk page.

Week 7: Building articles

 * Goals: Continue editing your articles.


 * Before Class
 * Locate reliable sources to expand your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.


 * In Class Activities
 * Work with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to incorporate your new sources.
 * Polish the writing and re-organize the article as necessary.
 * Post a comment at the bottom of the talk page, explaining the changes you made.


 * Homework
 * Keep working on your article.

Week 8: Adding pictures

 * Goals: Add relevant pictures.


 * Before Class
 * Read something that explains how to find public domain pictures.
 * Read Uploading images handout
 * Watch Uploading files to Wikimedia Commons video


 * In Class Activities
 * Talk with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to decide which pictures to add.
 * Locate appropriate pictures.
 * Upload images to Wikimedia Commons, if necessary.
 * Add images to articles.
 * If you were unable to find all the images you wanted, post a comment on the talk page to suggest other images that would be helpful.


 * Homework
 * Finish adding the images you selected.
 * Continue to build the content of the article.

Week 9: Realize Your Vision

 * Goals: Finish implementing the vision you had for the article.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Find additional sources.


 * In Class Activities
 * Discuss and incorporate the new sources.
 * Polish the writing and re-organize as necessary.
 * Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don't need to start reviewing yet.)


 * Homework
 * Finish implementing your vision. Make your article complete.

Week 10: Getting and giving feedback

 * Goals: Give peers feedback on their articles.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Read Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure
 * Watch Article assessments video
 * Watch Evolution of an article video


 * In Class Activities
 * Provide suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.
 * Explain article ratings on Wikipedia & how to get there.


 * Assignments
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


 * Homework
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.


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

Week 11: Submitting to Did You Know?

 * Goals: Work on the feedback given to you last week.
 * Before Class Activities
 * Read Submitting articles to Did You Know


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


 * Homework


 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 12: Class presentations

 * Goals: Prepare for your presentation by presenting to 2 people.


 * In Class Activities
 * Practice presentations
 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.


 * Homework
 * Add final touches to you Wikipedia article. Try to address issues from Good Article reviews.
 * Write a reflective essay (2-5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 13: Due date

 * Goals: Present about your articles and your experience.

You made it!


 * Before Class Activities
 * Finish preparing your presentation.


 * In Class Activities
 * Present your article, and discuss your experiences in editing it.


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

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