Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/UC Berkeley/LGBT 146 Cultural Representations of Sexuality (Spring 2017)

This course explores the relationship between diverse queer communities and forms of representation and knowledge production. Throughout the course, students will be conducting independent research in order to contribute to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Through Wikipedia, students will explore how to evaluate and critique articles for bias and gaps; develop effective research strategies for addressing those concerns; and hone their writing skills through an extensive process of editing and revising. Students will be guided through a series of online trainings that will teach students to write and edit Wikipedia entries and participate in the larger Wikipedia community. In the process, we will also be contributing to producing knowledge related to a range of issues and topics related to queer life. This is a research-intensive class, and students will be directly responsible for producing much of the content of the course through their own independent and group efforts. In addition to their own research for the Wikipedia portion of the class, as a class we will read and engage a number of texts that will help provide grounding in some of the major themes we will be addressing: queer histories of San Francisco and California; non-binary genders; legal issues surrounding sex regulation and gender identity; and the transnational flows of queer bodies and ideas. In our engagement with all of these themes, we will be highlighting how race, nationality, language, age, gender expression, geography, religion and other vectors of difference impact forms of knowledge production.

Week 2

 * 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.

-

Handout: Editing Wikipedia


 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments

Handouts: , [http://wikiedu.org/evaluatingwikipedia 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.

Handouts: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choosing_an_article.pdf Choosing an article ]

Week 4

 * Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

-

Handouts: and

-

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.


 * Your instructor has created a list of potential topics for your main project. Choose the one you will work on.
 * Begin to 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.

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia. As a first step and to improve your Wikipedia editing skills, imbed your topic area or subject into related Wikipedia pages

Week 7

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

-

Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Students will submit an annotated bibliography that includes at least 10 verifiable sources related to their topic.
 * These can include journal articles, book chapters, newspaper accounts, and documentaries.
 * Some of these should provide a general overview of the subject and some should be specific to your research topic
 * Each entry in the Annotated Bibliography should include a description of the entry (2-3 sentences) that summarizes the most significant aspects of the article that relate to your Wikipedia entry.
 * The assignment will be graded based on the range and quality of the sources cited, the accuracy and insight demonstrated by the annotations, and the creativity and resourcefulness used to track down pertinent citations.
 * Late assignments will be graded down a full letter grade if handed in within the week.

Week 8

 * 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.

Handout: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moving_out_of_your_sandbox.pdf Moving out of your Sandbox ]Supplementary training: Sandboxes and Mainspace [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moving_out_of_your_sandbox.pdf ]


 * Using your annotated bibliography as the basis for your entry, expand your article into a complete first draft.


 * 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.

Students will document their Wikipedia contributions to date and develop a plan of action for the remaining semester. WikiPlans should address what the student will Create, Correct, Link, Expand in relation to Wikipedia. (5%)

Week 10
EXTRA CREDIT: For extra credit points, students can identify articles that would benefit from illustration, and create or find an appropriate &quot;free license&quot; photo, illustration, or audio/video, and add it to the article.


 * All media uploaded to Wikipedia must fall under a &quot;free license,&quot; which means they can be used or shared by anyone. Examples of media you can use are photos that you take yourself, images and text in the public domain, and works created by someone else who has given permission for their work to be used by others. For more information about which types of media can be uploaded to Wikipedia, see Commons:Help desk.
 * To add a media file to an article, you must first upload it to Wikimedia Commons. For instructions on how to upload files to Commons, refer to Illustrating Wikipedia. This brochure will also provide you with detailed information about which files are acceptable to upload to Wikipedia and the value of contributing media to Wikipedia articles.


 * 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 14

 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

Handout: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polishing_your_articles.pdf Polishing your article ]

Throughout the class, we will have random pop quizzes to make sure you are keeping up with the assigned reading. There will be 5 pop quizzes over the course of the semester, the top 4 scores will be used. No make-up quizzes will be allowed under any circumstance.

A semester long grade for your class participation and course engagement.

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

Week 15
 WikiMap &amp; Reflection Paper: Student will update their WikiMap outlining what they creating, what they corrected, what they expanded and what they linked. They will also write a reflection paper that provides an assessment of their individual efforts. Students will also be asked to assess the contributions and support of other class members. (10%)

Final Paper: This is an opportunity for students to expand their Wikipedia entries in order to address the larger themes of the class, integrating the analysis, argumentation and theoretical insights that are not allowed in Wikipedia. 4-5 pages.