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

Week 5: Sept. 19 Wikipedia essentials and Editing Basics

 * In class
 * Presentation of Wiki Editing by Dr. Xin Xu
 * 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
 * Campus Ambassadors 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 (due Sept. 26)
 * 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 Sept 26.

Week 6 Sept. 26&28: 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
 * Assignments (due next week):
 * Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class or related to a Biology Topic, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's discussion page.
 * Due Oct 3. Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Ask your class's Online Ambassador for comments.

Week 7: Oct 3&5 Using sources
''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.''


 * 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 Oct 12)
 * 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!


 * For next week
 * Instructor evaluates student's article selection.

Week Oct 10&12: Choosing articles
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.


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


 * Assignments (due Oct 12)
 * Select an article to work on, removing the rest from the course page.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Week 9 Oct 17: Drafting starter articles

 * In class
 * Instructor and/or Campus Ambassadors talk about Wikipedia culture & etiquette, and [optionally] introduce the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Q&A session with instructor and/or Campus Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing
 * Video resource: Sandbox tutorial
 * Assignments (due week 7)
 * 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 Oct 19
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 10 Oct 24: Did you know

 * Assignments (due Oct 26)
 * Choose an article for your capstone project and sign on the list at the bottom of this page. You are responsible for adding about 10 paragraphs. Four students maximum per article, please.
 * 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.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 11 Oct 31 and Nov. 2: Building articles
START working!!! Let me know once 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


 * Assignments (due week 13 Nov. 14 & 16)
 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
 * Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don't need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 12 Nov. 7&9: Getting and giving feedback

 * 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.


 * Assignments (by Nov. 16)
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.


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

Week 14: Nov 21 Responding to feedback
''At this point, students should have produced more or less complete articles. Now is the chance to encourage them to wade a little deeper into Wikipedia and its norms and criteria for great content. You'll probably have discussed many of the core principles of Wikipedia&mdash;and related issues you want to focus on&mdash;but now that they've experienced how Wikipedia works first hand, this is a good time to return to topics like neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia. Consider bringing in a guest speaker, having a panel discussion, or simply having an open discussion amongst the class about what the students have done so far and why (or whether) it matters.''

''The next step for students' articles can be nominating them for Good Article status; it may take longer than the time remaining in the term for all the articles to get formal Good Article reviews (although Online Ambassadors may be able to help review them in a timely manner), but Good Article reviews often produce high quality feedback on both style and content. Some instructors have awarded automatic high marks for any students who successfully write articles that achieve Good Article status.''


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


 * Assignments (due Nov. 28)
 * 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: Nov. 28 & 30 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.


 * Assignments (due Dec. 5)
 * Add final touches to you Wikipedia article. Try to address issues from Good Article reviews.

Week 16: Dec 5.
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.

Capstone Project is 40% of course grade
These elements contribute to the Capstone Project
 * 15%: Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
 * 25%: Presentation
 * 60 %: Quality of main Wikipedia contributions, evaluated in light of reflective essay

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