Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/IUPUI/Historic Site Interpretation (Spring 2022)

This course is part of our graduate public history program at IUPUI (Indianapolis, IN) where we train MA-level students to make history relevant and meaningful in the present day.

People encounter history is at historic sites, which we commonly think of as places where a significant historical event happened and that are marked on the landscape today (like the site of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War which is preserved and has significant infrastructure for visitors).

Historic sites are also places where significant history happened but that may not be well marked (or marked at all) on the landscape today. Examples might be a subdivision that had racial covenants that systematically excluded Black ownership of houses in that neighborhood, or in Indianapolis, the site of the the early Black baseball franchise which is now the elephant habitat at the Indianapolis zoo.

Historic sites that are not well marked (or marked at all) on the physical landscape today benefit enormously from Wikipedia which can provide a virtual infrastructure to explain the meaning and significance of the places where history happened. This graduate class will be focusing on marking sites of anti-Black violence in Indiana using Wikipedia.

Week 4
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

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.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

History

Week 8
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9
Guiding framework

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

Week 10
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 11
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 12
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 14
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!