Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Erie Community College/Introduction to Sociology (Spring 2017)

This is the online Wikipedia module for a project that will be completed by students in the Introduction to Sociology course at ECC in Orchard Park, NY. Introduction to Sociology covers topics including the sociological imagination, social theory, methods, and social stratification.

Week 1
Welcome to your course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course, Introduction to Sociology.

This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of weekly steps, or assignments. These assignments include graded online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.

Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert named Adam. Check your Talk page for notes from him. You can also reach him through the &quot;Get Help&quot; button on this page.

This course page will serve as a dashboard for TWO in person courses -- both introduction to sociology. So, you will interact with some students online who are in a different class in person. About 15 of you have class Tuesday nights, and about 25 have class Thursday afternoon.

To get started, please review the following handouts:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Editing Wikipedia for Sociology (4 page handout)

You should plan to have finished the first two training activities (Wikipedia Essentials and Editing Basics) BEFORE coming to class on Jan 24/26. (Due Date Jan 22)

Week 2

 * Originally due 1/22, I pushed the due date to 1/29.
 * Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
 * It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
 * When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.

Read this handout on &quot;Evaluating Wikipedia.&quot;

This assignment will be started in class on January 24/26. We will be in a computer lab in the library.

It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.


 * Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).
 * Choose an article (possibly one listed in the Category:Sociology article list or in one of the sub-categories), and consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * How does the discussion of your topic compare to the way we talk about similar  issues or themes in class?
 * Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Sarahczarita (talk) 13:22, 30 April 2017 (UTC).

Week 3

 * Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook

Choose 3–5 potential articles, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback. You will submit this assignment on the Wikipedia user page.

Make sure to provide at least one source for each article -- it should be a source that fits the guidelines from the activity you did last week.

You may want to browse the Category:Sociology stubs article list to help get ideas. You can also just Google for &quot;Wikipedia stubs&quot; and find a number of lists of stubs on Wikipedia. Stubs are short or underdeveloped articles on Wikipedia and are a great choice for a class project.

Don't forget to complete the reflection on Blackboard as well! (About generational differences -- there is no Blackboard reflection on the Wikipedia topics.)

Week 5
We will be in the computer lab in the library for class the week of Feb 21/23.

At this point, you should have determined a final article topic that you have settled on. I will be available, as will a librarian from ECC, to help you with questions about your research and creating your article. Really, this is your chance to hash out your plans so be ready with an article stub or new article to create.

Week 6
The most important skill you will work on this week is finding reliable sources. Media literacy is an important skill -- and one that you will learn from a 21st century perspective in this class. What that means is, we will discuss how to discern reliable sources on the internet.

We will do this activity IN CLASS the week of Feb 14-16.


 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
 * In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
 * Think back to when you did an article critique (what were the questions you asked about the article?). What can you add to this article?
 *  Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography in your sandbox. This list should be edited correctly as a set of references that can be cited later. Take some notes on each source. Why is it useful? What information will it help add?
 * What information is missing that you still need to look up? Make sure to type your answer to this question in your sandbox.

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:


 * Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
 * The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.

We will discuss in class the question of &quot;when is a fact a fact.&quot;

At this point, you have collected some useful sources for your article and thought critically about Wikipedia and your role in it. Keep working on your article during this time.

Be sure to ask me, your instructor, by emailing me at kaisers@undefinedecc.edu or contacting me through Remind with any questions.

You'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to an article (perhaps the article you critiqued or the one you've chosen for your class project). We will discuss ways to do this and content ownership in class.


 * Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11.
 * When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked below.
 * When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called &quot;Free image&quot; or &quot;free stock photo&quot; websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org.
 * Don't just upload an image to Wikipedia. Instead, upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook.

Week 7
I expect you to continue working on your article as needed, and continue engaging in the sociological lessons at the same time. If your article connects to the sociological topics we cover in class, bring up those connections so we can discuss them.


 * Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
 * If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the &quot;Get Help&quot; button in your sandbox to request notes.

Week 8

 * Deadline postponed until 3/21***

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to write a draft. You might not start by writing complete summaries, but you should make notes about information you find and what source it is from.

Your draft will be reviewed by your peers and must be submitted/finished by 3/21 at the latest. Minimum of 100 words.

'''Creating a new article? '''


 * Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's &quot;lead section.&quot; Write it in your sandbox.
 * A &quot;lead&quot; section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

'''Improving an existing article? '''


 * Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.

Keep reading your sources, too, as you write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Week 9
Deadline changed to 4/2.


 * First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training activity (worth 2 points out of the 5)
 * Find the one classmate's article that you are assigned to peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column. (Remember that you must assign your own article to yourself on the &quot;Students&quot; tab.)
 * Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic? Is it neutral? Are the sources used accurately? Is everything clear? Be thorough -- and try to give constructive criticism. Be kind!

Week 11
You have some feedback from other students, your professor, and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!


 * Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
 * Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.

Write a review of the community and peer response to your work. What happened since you posted it? What was the response of the community and why do you think the community responded the way/s it did? How might you address their response? (Adjust? Defend your position? Add more support?) Develop a plan to make the changes you wish to make. Submit your written reflection on Blackboard.

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 Content Expert at any time!

Want to move your work live?

Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the &quot;mainspace.&quot;


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.

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!

Creating a new article?''' '''


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
 * You can also review the Sandboxes and Mainspace online training.

Week 12

 * Write a reflective paper (3–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
 * In your paper, reflect on the process of your researching and writing this entry over the last 3 months. In this paper, reflect on the process of representing a community that you are/were part of. This will be submitted on Blackboard.

You will present your final Wikipedia article for the class, including images, maps, etc. You should have developed and worked on it since the beginning of the course (and you can have made changes all throughout this time period).