Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/SPELMAN COLLEGE/ENGLISH 193 (FALL 2015)

Course Description

This course is designed to enable you to become a more fluid, inquisitive, compelling communicator. Similar to English 103, Honors Composition provides you with various opportunities to develop and exercise critical thinking skills through writing and research. However, this English 193 class will focus on how emerging writing genres like wikis are influencing the generic conventions of traditional academic writing genres (e.g. “the research paper”). More specifically, we will ask, “What does knowledge mean right now?” To pursue this inquiry, we will approach knowledge as a networked entity comprised of interdependent sites, economies, and cultures. Thus, we will turn to one of the most obvious places to research knowledge in the 21st century--Wikipedia. Despite the fact that most Internet users depend heavily on Wikipedia to research information, many educators remain highly suspicious about its accuracy and reliability. At some point of your education, it is likely that you were told that, “Wikipedia is not a valid source.” This class will cultivate an entirely different relationship to Wikipedia. Our class seeks to learn more about Wikipedia from the perspective of a contributor, as well as identify its unique context. In particular, we will consider what it means for Wikipedia to be one of top ten most trafficked websites in the United States. We will also analyze the implications of the fact that this web 2.0 technology has scaled the opportunity to participate in the archiving of human knowledge to unprecedented levels. How is a “free website that anyone can edit” managed? Who is responsible for editing Wikipedia? What do “free” and “anyone” mean to Wikipedia and its users?

Course Methods

This class will evaluate Wikipedia as a discourse community, as well as a living archive and embodied rhetoric. Students will gain first-hand experience editing Wikipedia, paying close attention to how knowledge is accessed, produced, and circulated in this space. Students will also write about their experiences using Wikipedia to develop a research agenda that focuses on some significant issue raised by the existence of Wikipedia. For instance, students may pose questions about issues such as truth, trust, respect, credibility, intellectual property, expertise, homogeneity, diversity, and collective intelligence.

Through these related processes, they will acquire several skills that are integral to global information economies. First, students will understand the relationship between programming and writing, as practices and cultures. Next, students will develop a working vocabulary to talk about new media. By exploring Wikipedia's architecture and content, students will analyze its languages and practices. They will also recognize the social and political implications of Wikipedia as they adapt to MediaWiki’s code. Students will apply their experience acquiring coding knowledge to social movements for radical openness and information freedom (e.g. WikiLeaks, Open Educational Resources (OER), and Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). Therefore, students will be able to differentiate proprietary and open-source software, as well as analyze how their organization impacts fundamental beliefs about access, ownership, and property.

Spelman Catalog Description

A spectrum of writing experiences from analysis to argument to criticism. Emphasis on readings and extended research from literature and nonfiction prose that focus on race and gender issues. General core.

Week 1

 * Overview of the course

'''* Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course '''
 * Learn about Wiki-Storming

Handout: [http://wikiedu.org/editingwikipedia Editing Wikipedia ]

Week 2

 * Read Marshall Poe's &quot;The Hive&quot;
 * Read how Wikipedians historicize Wikipedia
 * View Jimmy Wales' 60 Minutes Interview
 * Complete Student Information Sheet


 * Read Nommo
 * Read Masks and Mythology Among the Dogon
 * Read Dr. Lockett's Statement about Hacker Names
 * Meet up with a peer you've never really talked to. Go somewhere for coffee/tea or anywhere casual and discuss the readings for about an hour. Be sure to take notes during your discussion, careful to identify moments that spark unexpected connections to other contexts.
 * Type up a 1-2 page reflection that responds to the following question: &quot;What is the significance of a hacker name?&quot; Draw on your readings and peer discussion to support your response (NOTE: Be sure to follow MLA formatting). Print off your reflection and bring to class.

Week 3

 * Please complete the revised survey Answer the NEW survey’s required questions. If you see an optional question, don’t reply. Sorry for the inconvenience. :)
 * Create an account and then complete the online training for students. 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 on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the 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.

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Resources: Online Training for Students

Week 4

 * 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
 * Discuss topics of interest and identify peers in your chosen topic area

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Handouts:, Evaluating Wikipedia, Wikipedians are Editing the Gender Gap, Read and analyze the BOL's Occupational Outlook Handbook, and explore the resources on the Students/Teacher's Resources Page.

HW: Read handouts in preparation for class on 9.8.


 * Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.
 * Create a criteria for evaluating sources

* Collaborate on a criteria for &quot;good Wikipedia writing&quot;
Handouts: Reading about Evaluating Sources (TBA)

HW: Visit the private class wiki: http://spelmanwriters193.pbworks.com. All homework assignments will be cross-listed on the public Wikipedia dashboard and on the class wiki. These will be our primary CMCs (Course Management Systems). Their links will also be available through Moodle.


 * Discuss how students learn through reading
 * Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
 * Compare Wikipedia's resources about sourcing practices to online writing labs like PurdueOWL

'''* Pop quiz on Using Sources '''

Handouts: and [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avoiding_plagiarism.pdf Avoid Plagiarism ]

HW: Read read handouts. Also read: Rebecca Moore Howard &quot;Understanding Internet Plagiarism&quot;. Practice critical reading strategies when you read Howard's article. Be prepared to share your note taking strategy with the class and explain why it is the best method for learning.


 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.
 * Compose a journal entry reporting your experience on your wiki-blog (prompt TBA)


 * Read a brief history of the Internet from W3C's perspective.
 * Read a brief history of the Internet from the perspective of its founders via InternetSociety.Org
 * Read about how the Internet works.
 * Meet up with a couple of peers (2-3) you've never really talked to. Go somewhere for coffee/tea or anywhere casual and discuss the readings for about an hour. Discuss the significance of this history and use it to invent arguments about the impact of the Internet and how it relates to concepts like &quot;freedom,&quot; &quot;access,&quot; &quot;knowledge,&quot; and &quot;sustainability.&quot;
 * As a &quot;hive,&quot; transcribe your discussion using Google documents. Pay close attention to the &quot;flow&quot; of collaborative note taking, and be prepared to comment on this method of documenting &quot;knowledge making&quot; in class next week. Give the notes an appropriate title and be sure to &quot;share&quot; your work with Dr. Lockett (alexandrialockett@undefinedgmail.com). (NOTE: follow any formatting style you wish. But you must include a title that indicates our course number and section (e.g. ENG193.03). You must also include the names of each participant at the beginning of the document)


 * 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 on your wiki-blog for instructor feedback.

All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

All students have PBworks user accounts and will be able to respond to their homework in their designated wiki blogs.

Week 5

 * Discuss the challenges of asking &quot;good&quot; questions
 * Develop and incorporate strategies for the inquiry and research processes
 * Browse Woodruff Library's Find Materials Page


 * Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.

Resource: Woodruff Library's Find Materials Page


 * 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.

Week 6

 * If you are starting a new article, write an outline of the topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia lead section of 3–4 paragraphs in your sandbox. Wikipedia articles use &quot;summary style&quot;, in which the lead section provides a balanced summary of the entire body of the article, with the first sentence serving to define the topic and place it in context. The lead section should summarize, very briefly, each of the main aspects of the topic that will be covered in detail in the rest of the article. If you are improving an existing article, draft a new lead section reflecting your proposed changes, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check that page often to gather any feedback the community might provide.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your lead section and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for writing the body of the article.


 * 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.
 * Discuss reading agenda and the process of learning about a subject.

Handout: What Motivates Wikipedians

HW: Read the handout and be prepared to discuss it. Compose three source annotations based on your reading motivations. Respond to the following prompt on your wiki blog. What motivated you to annotate these particular sources? How did reading the sources affect your motivation to evaluate and include them in your article?


 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.


 * Read the handouts below
 * Discuss Wikipedians as a discourse community and evaluate their marketability
 * Discuss the issue of homogeneity and diversity in knowledge spaces

Handout: [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opinion/sunday/wikipedias-sexism-toward-female-novelists.html?_r=3& Wikipedia's Sexism Toward Female Novelists ]

Handout: [http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/harvards-looking-for-a-wikipedian-in-residence/284373/ Harvard is Looking for Wikipedians-in-Residence ]

Handout: [http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/how-wikipedians-in-residence-are-opening-up-cultural-institutions/240204/ How Wikipedians in Residence are Opening Up Cultural Institutions ]

Handout: [https://xkcd.com/214/ Political Cartoon about 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.

This is an open forum workshop, in which we will talk about our emotional relationship to criticism.


 * Develop a working definition of critique and peer review
 * Discuss our expectations of feedback

Week 8

 * Select three 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.)


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

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Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia, Flickr Creative Commons, Creative Commons Search

Handout: Free Culture, Introduction and Chapter 1 Handout: Excerpt from David Bollier's Think like a Commoner (Print)

HW: Read handouts. Be prepared to have a class debate about copyright, creativity, and cultural appropriation.


 * Discuss effective copyediting strategies
 * Incorporate strategies into Wikipedia Article Works-In-Progress

Week 9

 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.


 * Set up an appointment for a mandatory conference about your works-in-progress

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.
 * Work on revising articles


 * Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


 * Complete the peer review activity


 * 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.
 * Discuss &quot;The Position Paper,&quot; &quot;Research Papers,&quot; &quot;Essays,&quot; and their Generic Conventions.
 * Compare Encyclopedia Writing to Writing Academic Research.

Handouts: Wikipedia FAQ about Neutral POV, Marshall Poe A Closer Look at the NPOV, [https://www.google.com/search?q=media+literacy&oq=media+lit&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i65j69i57j0l2j69i61.1536j1j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8#q=teaching+media+literacy Media Literacy ]

HW: Read handouts. Respond to the following prompt on your wiki-blog. What seems like the most natural transition from the Wiki Writing you've been doing to composing a researched article as a traditional research paper?


 * 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.


 * Set up an appointment for a mandatory conference about your works-in-progress. Be prepared to discuss what you are learning from your research and your process of doing research and editing Wikipedia. We talk about some ways that you may wish to enter an academic conversation about your experience or the connections you are making as a result of your experience.

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.


 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

This 4th Hour is a lecture that discusses various ways for you to benefit from the course activity. Different platforms for showcasing your research experience and collaborative digital editing experience will be discussed.

Week 13

 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia. Details TBA.


 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

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Handout:


 * Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
 * Take a survey about your experience editing Wikipedia

Week 14

 * Draft Workshops


 * Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic. Details TBA.


 * Design and submit a Wikipedia portfolio.


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