Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Hunter College, CUNY/CHEM 378 - Biochemistry Lab (Fall 2022)

Students will perform a set of laboratory experiments covering areas of biochemistry such as protein analysis, enzyme purification, enzymatic assays, recombinant DNA and the polymerase chain reaction.

The Wikipedia assignment will provide students with an opportunity to conduct secondary research in library databases and through open access materials. Students will then contribute findings and sources to Wikipedia articles in the discipline. In addition to gaining research skills you will need as a professional, this activity serves as a form of outreach to provide information about your topic to a wide audience.

Week 11
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete. It includes links to the training modules required for this course. All training, exercises, and contributions are due December 7, 2022. Training, exercises, your contribution, and the sources you use will all be evaluated as part of your grade for the assignment.

Use the timeline as a guide to help with pacing your work on the assignment.

By now you have established your acccount in Wikipedia and can get to the WikiEdu course dashboard for CHEM 378, fall 2022.

As you work on this assignment, keep note of the following for a final reflection.


 * Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
 * Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition
 * Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
 * Did the Wikipedia assignment affect your understanding of how information is constructed and shared? How do you now understand your own role within today's information landscape?

The final reflection is also due 12/7/22.

Once you have a Wikipedia account and have enrolled in the course here, work on the Getting familiar with Wikipedia training modules and exercise linked in the block below.

Week 12


&quot;A stub is an article deemed too short to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject.&quot; Go to the Wikipedia page on stubs for more information.

For this assignment you will find and edit a stub in the Biochemistry category. Begin to look at the Biochemistry stubs to consider which one (or more) you would like to contribute to. By next week you should settle on one or more and you can assign it to yourself in the WikiEdu Dashboard.

Week 13


Once you have selected your topic/stub, assign it to yourself. Go through the exercises above, and review any others that may help you at this point. Finalizing your topic and finding sources.

Locate sources in Hunter College Libraries' databases or by searching Google Scholar. (Hints: start by entering your topic into OneSearch on the HCL website; Set your Google Scholar Library Links so that you can see results that are available through Hunter College Libraries. See link to Google Scholar on the HCL webpage http://library.hunter.cuny.edu. Be mindful of open access resources when using Google Scholar. You can also go directly to a database if you choose. You can browse the recommended databases on the subject database page for biochemistry.

Reach out to me (ifinkel@undefinedhunter.cuny.edu) if you have questions.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Develop a  stub article in your Sandbox to start.

Week 14
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact me at any time if you need further help!

Week 15
Now that you've improved your draft it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 16

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

By December 7, everyone should have finished all of the work on the Wikipedia assignment.


 * Training modules
 * Exercises
 * Contribution to one or more stubs in the Biochemistry category using sources from Hunter College Libraries resources to support your contribution
 * A final reflection that includes the following. There will be a forum set up BlackBoard's Discussion Board for your reflection.


 * Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
 * Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition
 * Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
 * Did the Wikipedia assignment affect your understanding of how information is constructed and shared? How do you now view your own role within today's information landscape? Have you observed anything else about the communication of information?