Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Interdisciplinary Application of Biology (Candace Timpte)/Timeline

Week 2: Jan. 16 Wikipedia essentials and Editing Basics

 * In class
 * Presentation of Wiki Editing
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Handout: Welcome to Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wikimedia Foundation)
 * Read Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles


 * 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
 * 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 Jan. 30)
 * 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 by Jan. 30.

Week 3&4 through Jan 30: Exploring the topic area
Finding topics with the right balance between lack of prior good Wikipedia coverage and available literature from which to build new Wikipedia coverage can be tricky. See the list of topics on the course page or find one on your own.


 * In class
 * Handout: Advice for choosing articles

Week 5
Evaluate Wikipedia Articles: what makes a good article? Due Feb. 20, 3:00 pm.

Select an article on Wikipedia that might be your capstone project.

1.	Submit the link to me for approval in advance of the due date.

2.	Critically examine the article using the Good article criteria addressing each of the six elements listed in your proposed article. You may make a table or a chart, but more than a one word synopsis of your article is required for each of these categories.

3.	Propose what you plan to do to enhance this article: Will you add a new section, expand an existing section, find images, make tables? Provide a detailed plan for your project. Of course you might deviate from the plan as you work in the next month, but it is good to have a plan to start.

4.	Put the GGC Wikiproject Banner on the talk page of the article and make one statement on the talk page about what you plan to do.

5.	Do this by 3:00 pm Feb. 20th.

Feel free to consult with our online ambassadors or our campus ambassador as well.

Week 6: Using sources

 * In class
 * Handouts and videos: Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, part 1, Citing sources tutorial video, part 2


 * Assignment (due Feb. 27)
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class or a biology topic. LIVE on Wikipedia! YOU are a participating Wikipedian!! Congratulations!


 * You are responsible for adding about 10 paragraphs. Two students maximum per article, please.

''As they start using sources to improve Wikipedia articles or write new ones, it is especially important for students to understand Wikipedia's policies on plagiarism and copyright violation. Students generally know that copying whole paragraphs or sentences from sources constitutes plagiarism. But many don't know about&mdash;or think they can get away with&mdash;subtler forms of plagiarism, such as using shorter phrases without attribution or beginning from a copied text and simply rewording it while leaving the structure and meaning intact (i.e., close paraphrasing). Any form of plagiarism or copyright violation is likely to result in students' work being removed from Wikipedia.''

Week 7 & 8: Get to WORK!!
Because students often wait until the last minute to do their research or choose sources unsuited for Wikipedia, we strongly suggest that the students put together a bibliography of materials they want to use in editing the article which can then be assessed by, you, the instructor and other Wikipedians.


 * Assignments Due Feb.20
 * Wikipedia Plan assignment: see the example assignment on the CMS. Cite the page you plan to edit, put the link in the chart below on the wikipedia class page. Evaluate the article using Wikipedia's GA criteria. Submit a proposal of your plans for editing the article, being as specific as possible. See sample assignment.

Week 9: Wikipedia Help Session

 * Keep working on your capstone project
 * In class
 * Questions? What is working for you? Review of plagiarism rules.
 * Work with classmates and Online Ambassadors to polish your editing and fix any major transgressions of Wikipedia norms.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.


 * Milestone Week 9
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
 * March 9, All students will have entered 2 paragraphs on the Wikipedia page for their project. (This submission will be graded up to 10 points).

Week 10: Did you know

 * 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.
 * Continue expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 11: Building articles
KEEP working!!! Let me know if you've moved major portions onto the page you are editing so I can keep up with you. If you encounter other Wikipedians undoing your edits, engage in polite discourse and enlist my help or that of one of our ambassadors.


 * 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

Week 12: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class
 * As a group, examine a couple of Wikipedia Articles and set the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.


 * Assignment (due April 20)
 * Select one classmate’s article that you will peer review. Sign your name in the chart on this page. Write a brief (250 word) summary or critique of the student's contributions to the wikipedia page. Is there another area of the article that still needs improvement? Be aware that everyone's pages are still 'works in progress' ; therefore make specific suggestions if possible.


 * Milestone April 20
 * All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

Week 15: April 23 week: Responding to feedback

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


 * Assignments (due April 27)
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
 * Nominate your article for Good Article status.
 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 15: April 23 Class presentations

 * In class
 * Students give in-class presentations about their article of interest and lead the class through an examination of the issue from the four perspectives.

Final Edits to your Wikipedia page for grading purposes are due by midnight April 30, 2012

 * Add final touches to you Wikipedia article. Try to address issues from Good Article reviews.
 * I will begin assessing pages on May 1, 2012.

Week 16: May 1.
You made it! Wiki Celebration Party! Discussion of the course, and the Wikipedia contributions. Will you continue as an active wikipedian?


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