Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Bentley University/EXP 201 010 (Spring 2016)

Critical thinking,writing and speaking practice

Students learn to question unreliable sources actively; to write and contribute to a knowledge base that the world uses everyday; to analyze and interpret information for fairness, accuracy, and reliability.

Week 1

 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.

Adam's contact info: post to his talk page  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Adam_(Wiki_Ed) email: [mailto:adam@undefinedwikiedu.org adam@undefinedwikiedu.org]


 * Create an account and join this course page.
 * Complete the introductory training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
 * Create a User page.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to another student on their user talk page.
 * Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.

Handout: Editing Wikipedia Handouts: , Evaluating Wikipedia

Macee's contact info: [mailto:mdamon@undefinedbentley.edu mdamon@undefinedbentley.edu]

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

Week 2
WP: Requested articles WP: Translation (section two — articles needing translation)
 * Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.
 * A Wiki portal gets you to a subject area. The individual articles are more like topics.
 * Explore the directory of portals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Portal/Directory
 * Here's how to get you to various types of things WP wants people to write (as will the &quot;What can you do?&quot; sections of many portal pages).
 * WP: Missing articles
 * Some articles (like Fence Cutting Wars) contain navigational templates at the bottom with links to related articles, organized for readers rather than the community of editors. These can be useful in finding specific narrow subjects related to a broad topic.

Scroll down to have a look at the Things you can do box on this portal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Business_and_economics

or

Check out possibilities for women's issues that need coverage:


 * WikiProject: Women in Red

Handouts: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choosing_an_article.pdf Choosing an article ]


 * Research the two topics you selected on Wikipedia. What do you see? Is the article well developed and could it use improvement?
 * Topic articles &amp; proposals are due on 2/25; submit to Google folder as &quot;Topic.proposal&quot;

Week 3

 * Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Handouts:  and [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avoiding_plagiarism.pdf Avoiding Plagiarism ]




 * In preparation for the annotated bibliography, compile a bibliography of 3 relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Based on your portal searches and Wiki article, identify a reasonable Wikipedia topic. submit your topic proposal. For example, last week's news about gravitational waves is not only unreasonable for probably impossible to research. Choose something you know about already.

I encourage you to work in your own discipline/major so you have some solid ground to work from. Familiarize yourself with the thinking about what makes a Wiki article &quot;notable.&quot;

Write a one-page proposal that identifies your research topic article and then proceeds to explain your choices to the class:  How did you decide on this article/revision/addition you chose? Why should Wikipedia accept it (using the reasoning outlined in their standards)? Does it meet the standards of non-triviality, quality, credibility, and NPO (neutral point of view) -- be specific in your explanation. Use your growing knowledge of Wiki protocols state why your proposed article makes a contribution to existing articles on the Wiki platform. It would not be sufficient, for example, to state: because such an article doesn't exist. Better to use your proposal to state why you think your topic has been overlooked.

State your current research question at the top of the document. That is, a question about your topic that you believe needs to be answered -- but that you cannot yet answer.

Submit to Google folder as &quot;Topic.proposal&quot;

Week 4

 * Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.

Supplementary training: Sandboxes and Mainspace


 * Think about doing research as having encounters with the texts you locate; how they engage, influence and change your thinking about your topic. Using the Wikipedia protocols for reliable sources, locate 4 sources for the first version of your annotated bibliography. Use the sample format on the Purdue Owl to write the 3 distinct sections for each source: summary, critical assessment, reflection. It is important that you consider sources that present differing perspectives.
 * Submit to Google folder as &quot;AnnotatedBib.1&quot;

Week 5

 * If you are starting a new article, write an outline of the topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia lead section of 3–4 paragraphs in your sandbox. Wikipedia articles use &quot;summary style&quot;, in which the lead section provides a balanced summary of the entire body of the article, with the first sentence serving to define the topic and place it in context. The lead section should summarize, very briefly, each of the main aspects of the topic that will be covered in detail in the rest of the article. If you are improving an existing article, draft a new lead section reflecting your proposed changes, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check that page often to gather any feedback the community might provide.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your lead section and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for writing the body of the article.

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 6

 * We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
 * A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
 * Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
 * Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.

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Handout:


 * Move your sandbox articles into main space.
 * If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
 * If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow the instructions in the &quot;Moving out of your sandbox&quot; handout.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Taking first draft comments into consideration, complete your annotated bibliography with 3 additional sources that address weak spots and source range/perspective. The final version: no less than 7 sources, annotated with 3 distinct sections per source.

Submit to Google folder as &quot;Annotatedbib.final&quot;

Week 7

 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.
 * Rehearse &amp; time 3-4 minute Lightning Talk (see Course Schedule).

Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and [http://wikiedu.org/evaluatingwikipedia Evaluating Wikipedia ]


 * Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the articles you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 8

 * Read Nancy Sommers' article on case studies of revision strategies, posted on Bb.
 * Make notes about your ongoing research process in preparation for your Reflection essay
 * also post writing to folder as &quot;Research.1 &amp; Research.2&quot;

Week 9

 * Listen to BBC Interview with Jimmy Wales, &quot;Newsroom&quot; clip, and Neal de Grassi Tyson clip for discussion
 * Also post writing to folder as &quot;Research.3&quot; and your Sandbox




 * Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

Week 10

 * Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.


 * Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
 * Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.


 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

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Handout:

Week 11

 * Write an essay that reflects on all of your learning during the research process.
 * See Course Schedule for incremental due dates; final essay due May 6 posted to folder as &quot;Reflection.final.&quot;  Please keep your drafts intact, with my margin comments. For final work create a &quot;clean&quot; copy of the document, and rename it.

Week 12
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.