Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Brooklyn College/Principles of Ecology (Fall 2022)

Ecology is the study of the interaction between organisms and their environment, and encompasses a broad array of study areas, ranging from individual organisms to the global biosphere. While ecological research has traditionally focused on natural systems independent of human impacts, insights from this work are becoming increasingly relevant as we attempt to understand the short- and long-term impacts of human settlement on the global environment. As part of Brooklyn’s innovative program in urban sustainability, BIOL3083 aims to provide a solid foundation in ecological theory, and to encourage students to use this theory to explore life in a modern city.

Students will work in groups, selecting one of the major ecological themes of the course, and work to translate these ecological principles to an urban environment. Students will prepare a research proposal outlining their topic, and including 2-3 primary references. Following the approval of their proposal, students will develop their topic into a full article. At the conclusion of the course, students will present their articles to the class, as an integrative Wiki.

The general structure of this assignment is followed each Fall, but student research is typically lost, as there is no way to archive student research papers in a way that is accessible to future classes. My hope is that if the experiment this semester is successful, we will continue to use Wikis in future years, providing a way for students to integrate/hyperlink their research to that of previous classes.

Week 2
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 3
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Week 5
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 7
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Ecology

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 8
Complete the peer review training module in preparation for next week's class (10/25)

Week 9
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 10
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 11
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 12
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 13


It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Week 15
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.