Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Castleton University/Climate Change and the Media (Spring 2016)

This interdisciplinary seminar will examine how media representations and discourses have shaped the prevailing narrative on global climate change. It will cover a variety of environmental issues facing the world today and how they have been covered in newspapers, photography, literature, film, television, digital media, and video games. Specifically, we will examine the ways in which traditional and digital media have contributed to the public engagement or disengagement with environmental issues.

In keeping with this theme of multiplicity of media outlets, two of your assignments for the course can be geared towards any media platform, including electronic applications for phones and tablets. Furthermore, one of your assignments will be to get your work published on Wikipedia. To guide us through this journey, we will have help of guest speakers and researchers from Wikimedia Foundation. Since the class meets only once a week, please do not miss class, especially when there are important guests.

Assignments:


 * 1) Environmental Case Study 35%: Each of you will identify an environmental case of interest to you and research both the issue as well as how the media covered it. I have identified a set of such cases/issues; however, you are welcome to go beyond them. Since the University has free access to the New York Times and the Rutland Herald archives, I will accept a paper based on the coverage of the environmental issue in one or the other paper. However, if you have access to other libraries (such as that of Middlebury College), feel free to examine The Washington Post (post 1996), The Wall Street Journal (post 1991) or the Los Angeles Times (post 1996). Your paper should be modeled on a Wikipedia entry. There is no maximum length for this. However, I doubt if you do it in less than 8 pages, 1.5-spaced typed in Times New Roman 12-point font.
 * 2) Film Note 25%: Choosing a film on an issue NOT covered by the research paper, put together a Wikipedia entry. I have identified some films for you, however, feel free to go beyond this list. The only limitation is that the film has to be a feature-length documentary. No specified length.
 * 3) The Project 25%: Each of you will design, in consultation with me, a project that addresses a specific environmental issue or problem. You can create a computer game that explains an issue covered in the course, a Tip Sheet for science and environmental journalists, you can create a phone app, a PSA, a short video, a sculpture or write a short story or design a model addressing the scope of an environmental issue and possible solutions. In case you are not able to execute this in the course of a 15-week semester, I will require an explanation of the principles that inform the work, commenting on just how the app or the model embodies a response to one of the central problems covered in the course. The scope and quality of the project should be appropriate to the level of the course. Feel free to seek the assistance and guidance of students and professors in other departments. For each project, however, I do require a written analytical component. Following the presentation and the class response, you will have a week to revise your project. (30% of the final grade).

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.

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Handout: Editing Wikipedia


 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments

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Handouts:, Evaluating Wikipedia


 * 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.

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

Week 2

 * Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.

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Handouts:

Week 3

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

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Handouts: and

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Supplementary training: Sources and Citations


 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.


 * Your instructor has created a list of potential topics for your main project. Choose the one you will work on.
 * Compile a bibliography of 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.

Week 4

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

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Supplementary training: Sandboxes and Mainspace

Week 5

 * Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Q&amp;A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.


 * 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.

Week 7

 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.

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Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Select three 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

 * Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 9

 * As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.

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Supplementary training: Peer Review


 * Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.

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


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


 * 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.


 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 11

 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.


 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

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Handout:

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