Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Writing: The Editing Process (Jennifer Geigel Mikulay)/Timeline

Week 5: Wikipedia Essentials

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


 * Assignment (due week 7)
 * Read Five pillars, an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles

Week 7: Editing basics

 * 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 week 8)
 * 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.

Week 8: Drafting 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
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 9: Building articles

 * In class or outside of class
 * Campus Ambassadors lead Wikipedia lab/workshop, covering:
 * 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 10: Getting and giving feedback

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


 * Wiki assignments (due week 10)
 * Peer review two of your classmates' article sections. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed article sections.


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

Week 12: Due date
You made it!


 * Milestone
 * Students have completed all of their work on Wikipedia.

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