Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/California State University Northridge/History 380 Los Angeles, Past, Present, and Future (Fall 2018)

In many ways, the history of the majority of people of Los Angeles is placed at the margins of the representation of the city. We often learn about the members of the powerful elite, the politicians, the business tycoons, and yes, also the celebrities. But what about the scores of everyday women and men who have built and shaped this metropolis with their lives, labor, ingenuity, and collective action? In this class, we will re-center our historical analysis to focus on the diverse groups of people that have transformed Los Angeles from a small pueblo into a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, vibrant, beautiful, yet complex sui-generis metropolis.

Instead of writing a final paper, the final project will require CSUN History 380 students to apply their historical knowledge of Los Angeles to develop a public history project in the form of a Wikipedia article in which the class-members will incorporate and apply their analytical, research, writing, and creative skills.

The final project for the course will consist of a series of online trainings, activities, and assignments that culminate in the researching, drafting, editing, and publishing of a Wikipedia article relating to a topic, event, or person of interest associated with the content covered in course readings, lectures, and discussions about Los Angeles. Students will be assigned to work in groups of 3-4 persons towards the completion of the final project. Group assignments will be made during the first discussion section meeting (week two). Students will be allocated weekly time each week to work on assignments in their groups. Based on how well students manage in-class group work, additional group meetings may be necessary outside of class. A reflective essay (3-4 double-spaced pages) and an in-group oral presentation at the end of the course are part of this assignment.

Week 1
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.)

Week 2
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

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Exercise
Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

What's a content gap?

Exercise
Add a citation

Finalize your topic / Find your sources

Week 6
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Cultural Anthropology

Ecology

History

LGBT+ Studies

Political Science

Sociology

Women's Studies

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7
Guiding framework

Thinking about Wikipedia

Week 8
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 9
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
Nominating your article for Did You Know

Exercise
Add links to your article

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 13
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 15
Guiding questions

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!

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

Week 16
Guiding questions