Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Cottey College/Sustainable Tourism (Spring 2018)

Students take up a sustainable tourism issue related to their destinations to expound upon on in the Wikipedia realm.

Week 1
TUESDAY April 24 :

Everyone creates an account with Wikipedia and then does one or more of the following:


 * further familiarizes themselves with editing in Wikipedia by reviewing the following handouts: Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5, Evaluating Wikipedia;
 * completes the three training modules below;
 * investigates what Wikipedia has to offer in relation to their destinations and/or the sustainable tourism issue with which they are concerned.

Everyone finishes the following:


 * further familiarizes themselves with editing in Wikipedia by reviewing the following handouts: Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5, Evaluating Wikipedia;
 * completes the three training modules below (worth 5 points of this week's assignment).

Everyone begins to complete the &quot;Evaluating Wikipedia for a Sustainable Tourism Issue&quot; Assignment [below and in Elearning, Due Friday midnight]

For this assignment, you will critically investigate what is available in Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.org) related to your destination and the sustainability issues you have already been examining. Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible in evaluating what's available:

1. What entries are available on your tourist destination? What about the sustainable tourism issues you have been considering in relation to this destination? Do any entries cover this/these issues? Does any entry do both: cover the sustainability issue in relation to your destination? (You will likely have to do different searches based on the destination and the sustainability issues). Once you have investigated what's available, note all the entries (by title and link) that you found related to your topic. You should rank them (depending on what's available) in some way if there's more than two entries, such as most heavily related, to somewhat related, to peripherally related. Choose the top one or two entries for the next more thorough analyses (and potential future editing). [5 pts]

2.  For one or two entries answer the following [10 pts]:


 * Does Wikipedia have a disclaimer for this entry? Check the &quot;Talk&quot; page to see how the article is rated, and what conversation is going on behind the scenes about how to represent the issue.
 * How long or how many subsections does it include?
 * How many sources does it use, and are they authoritative, peer reviewed, and legitimate sources?
 * What seems to be missing, potentially in relation to sustainability or in relation to your destination?

3. Based on your familiarity with scholarship on sustainable tourism and other sources on the destination from previous assignments, how might these materials supplement what's currently available on Wikipedia on this destination and/or on a particular sustainability issue? Keeping in mind Wikipedia's ideals for source materials, note at least two sources that would supplement this entry/these entries (these may be from class, your previous chosen article, or sources that helped you in doing the travel brochure assignment). [5 pts]

4. Finally, make a decision on what you think you should do to improve what’s available on this topic in Wikipedia. Will you create a new entry? Will you add a new sub-section in an existing entry? Does what’s available require any revision due to some sort of bias? Overall, the assignment requires you to add at least one paragraph of writing to Wikipedia (not more than three paragraphs) although you may also decide to edit as well as add to entries. Explain what you decide you think you will be doing at the next stage as a Wikipedia editor. [5 pts]

5.  Below/Above training modules: these are built into the points for this assignment. If you do all three, then you will get these five points.

Week 2
This week you will do three more training modules (see below), which should take no more than an hour in total. Next, you will do your own editing and adding to Wikipedia. This writing may exist in different locations; it does not have to be solely in one section of Wikipedia. Remember, you are required to add at least one paragraph, no more than three paragraphs, of content.

The word count  should ideally be between 100-300 words, and the information you add to Wikipedia should include at least two source citations (if not more), and all the information you add should be based on legitimate sources that you have evaluated using Wikipedia's sourcing ideals. You may use additional sources if it makes sense for the entry and the information you are providing; you may also add an image if it makes sense for the entry you are editing.

You should start your writing in your sandbox. Your deadline is Friday midnight for your entry to go 'live,' and that simply means moving your main edits from your sandbox to Wikipedia. Keep in mind, moving your entry requires that you have done some edits previously, or getting help from our course Wikipedia Content Experts listed on the top right section of our course dashboard.

Below are some pointers for editing depending on what you choose to do.

'''Editing an existing article?

'''


 * NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
 * Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
 * Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.

'''Creating a new article?

'''


 * Consider revisiting Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
 * The Sandboxes and Mainspace online training will also be helpful for this process.

'''Once it's live

'''Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


 * Revisit Editing Wikipedia page 12 for creating links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 2–3 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
 * Revisit 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 Content Expert at any time!

YOUR OVERALL ASSIGNMENT WILL BE GRADED BASED on the FOLLOWING [30 pts total]:


 * Completing all three training modules (for this week): 5 pts
 * Fulfilling the length requirements for your edits and additions: 5 pts
 * WRITING CLARITY at the Micro (grammar, word choice, syntax, punctuation) and Macro (placement within Wikipedia, organization, transitions, style) levels: 10 pts
 * Content and providing legitimate and accurate sources for all the content: 10 pts

Week 3
Before our optional final, doughnut meeting (Tuesday @undefined 3:30) and after you have made your Wikipedia edits and additions &quot;live,&quot; you will reflect on the process of evaluating and contributing to Wikipedia in a couple paragraphs (no more than three). You will post these reflections in our Elearning Discussion Forum.

Here are some guidelines as well as some issues to contemplate for your reflections:


 * Feedback and Wikipedia generally: Did you find the information you found to be neutral and unbiased?  Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how have you responded to and handled that feedback? What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? Did you feel liberated or constrained as an editor?
 * Summarizing your evaluation and contributions: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article? Include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition.
 * Sustainable Tourism: How might Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of sustainable tourism and/or the destination that was your focus? How might this be important to the general public?