Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/UCLA/Women and Minorities in the Geosciences and Environmental Science (Spring 2017)

Course overview This seminar will examine contributions of geoscientists and environmental scientists at UCLA who are from traditionally marginalized groups to their fields, and in doing so, learn about important scientific concepts in different fields. We will also discuss the benefits of diversity to science and to institutions. We will consider the experiences of women vs men, women of color vs women, and different races and ethnic groups, and discuss strategies to promote equity. Students will interview and research a UCLA scientist, and read a scientific paper to learn about what that scientist discovered. They will create a Wikipedia entry on the scientist they profile, and edit it with the course instructor, participants, and the person being profiled.

Wiki Ed resources Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.

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

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

Week 1
In class discussion about the diversity statistics in the US, in STEM, in geoscience and environmental science, and in wikipedia biographies. Discussion of factors that can lead to lack of representation. Presentation on goals of course. Structure of course.

Week 2
Discussion - what questions do we want to ask in our interviews? Introduce the Wiki Ed support. Review assignments

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.


 * Contact your faculty member and cc: the instructor in order to schedule a time for your interview. Try to schedule it for late week 3, early week 4.
 * Create a wikipedia user name and 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.
 * Review the following handouts
 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia
 * Review the Editing Wikipedia articles on Biographies handout.
 * Read the notability guidelines for academics on Wikipedia.
 * Do training modules on wikipedia essentials and editing basics.

Week 3
In class discussions about the reliability of information. Transitioning to wikipedia from the interview. How to find sources.


 * Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
 * What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
 * Does having strict sourcing requirements erase certain types of information or introduce gender bias?
 * What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
 * What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?

Take the &quot;Sources and Citations&quot; training. Complete your interview! Take photos using your phone (copyright issues with photos from other sources). Assign yourself your chosen biography on the Students tab above. Make sure you use proper spelling and capitalization.

Week 4
In class this week we will discuss the outline your draft bio should take and the steps you'll need to go through to complete your draft. If you haven't yet, now is a good time to


 * Review the Editing Wikipedia articles on Biographies handout.
 * Read the notability guidelines for academics on Wikipedia.

Any statements made in your interview that you'd like to include in the Wikipedia article need to be supported by a citation.

Everyone has begun writing their bios.

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

'''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.

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

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

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 5
Discuss peer review process and present your draft.

Every student has finished reviewing classmates bios.


 * First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training.
 * Select two classmates’ articles that you will 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.
 * 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?

Week 6
Work on revisions. Overview of powerpoint presentations.

You probably have some feedback from other students 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.
 * Send revised draft to instructor and to person being profiled.

Week 7
This week in class we will work together to finalize drafts and get them ready to be moved live! If some one has a complete first draft and feels ready, perhaps we can do a live demo of the process. First powerpoint presentations.

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;

'''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 8
In class presentations on two people who were profiled.

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


 * 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.

Week 9
Two in class presentations

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.

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!

Week 10
Final in class presentations

Prepare 500-1000 word essay or 3+ minute video reflection on the course and submit to instructor.