Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Rutgers University/Languages in Peril (Spring 2016)

The vast majority of human knowledge is stored not in books, or computers, or even Wikipedia, but rather in the minds of ordinary people the world around. In many cases, the languages in which this knowledge is encoded are spoken by as few as a dozen people, and will almost certainly be lost with the passing of these languages and their speakers. By some estimates, fully 90% or more of the world’s languages will have disappeared by the end of the century.

This course will employ a multidisciplinary approach to address the impending disappearance of the world’s linguistic and cultural patrimony, which is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind in the 21st century. The discussion of these general issues will be illustrated with case studies of endangered languages and the traditions that they represent: three from the Middle East, three from South Asia, and three from Africa.

We will address:

the importance of linguistic diversity, and the ways in which the cultural knowledge encoded within language shape our experiences of and perspectives on the world; issues of language policy and linguistic rights across local and global contexts; and the methodology and technology of documentary linguistics, and how it can be employed to document our disappearing linguistic and cultural patrimony. By the end of the semester, students will be familiar with value of “local” non-standard forms of language, and the critical threat to intellectual diversity posed by their disappearance, as well as the philosophical and other theoretical issues surrounding the topic of language endangerment. They will learn about the importance of traditionally orally-transmitted knowledge, both as witnesses to a specific tradition and more broadly within the context of human knowledge, and the importance of documenting these before the languages in which they are transmitted vanish.

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

Week 2

 * 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 3

 * 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 4

 * 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.


 * Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5

 * 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


 * Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your topic on the course page.
 * 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.


 * If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Week 6

 * 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.

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7

 * 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 8

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

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Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Select two 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 9

 * Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 10

 * 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.

Week 11

 * 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 12

 * 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.

Week 13

 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

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Handout:

Week 14
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.