Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Univ/Writing in Women's and Gender Studies (F)

Participants in this course will engage in research and writing in the discipline of gender studies with attention to the identification of quality resources and appropriate rhetorical tools for addressing the diverse audiences and purposes.

Week 1
Tuesday, August 23


 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Overview of Wikipedia community expectations, rules, etiquette, differences from traditional college essay work
 * Introduction to Wiki Talk Pages and Article Rating System
 * What makes a good article, structure of Wikipedia articles.
 * Overview of Gender Studies principles and perspectives

Resources: ,

Thursday - August 25

From your course syllabus:


 * See “Assignments” on Blackboard for more detailed instructions. Here is a summary: -
 * Locate and read a New York Times article on a topic that you identify as being relevant to WGST -
 * Summarize the article in a page or less, submit the summary on Blackboard.

Week 2
From now until 11/3, instructions for assignments and plans for how class periods will be spent will be published on the Wiki Dashboard for this course. These blocks are empty on your course syllabus. The Dashboard will function as the syllabus calendar for this portion of the course.

Tuesday, August 30 '''From your course syllabus: '''See “Assignments” on Blackboard for more detailed instructions. Here is a summary:


 * Read Wikipedia’s username policy and decide how anonymous you want to be.
 * Set up your User Account in Wikipedia by clicking on “Create Account” at the top right of any Wikipedia page.
 * Enroll in this course by:
 * Clicking on the URL found on Blackboard Announcements
 * Click the &quot;enroll&quot; button at the top left of the course page.
 * You are now an official member of the course in Wikipedia; you can view the course schedule and find links to training and other assignments in the course dashboard.
 * Look around Wikipedia to see how the topic you read about last Thursday is represented on Wikipedia
 * Read pages 4-7 in Evaluating Wikipedia to get an idea of what to look for in articles (and what other people will look for in your work).
 * Think about how coverage of the same topic differs between Wikipedia and the New York Times.
 * Write a short reflection (2 pages) about what you find and what you think about it. See detailed instructions on Blackboard “Assignments” about what to include in your reflection.

Resource: Wikipedia's UserName Policy.

In-class -


 * Discussion of your assignment results
 * Organization and construction of knowledge


 * Read Evaluating Wikipedia.
 * Open a second window and follow along by evaluating a real article as you read.
 * Complete Wikipedia Essentials Training.

Resources:

CLASS TODAY MEETS IN EKSTROM W103 Thursday, September 1 - IN CLASS


 * Reminder: how Wikipedia will be used in the course and community expectations and etiquette.
 * Practice editing in your sandbox. At a minimum, complete these tasks:
 * On your User Page, add a sentence or two about yourself and your potential topics of interest in gender studies.
 * Include at least one formatting edit (bold, italics, etc.).
 * Include at least one link to either a Wikipedia page or an outside source.
 * Add an image from Wikimedia Commons (See handout in class for simple how-to instructions for adding an image.)
 * 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 course dashboard page.

Week 3
Tuesday, September 6


 * Read Wikipedia’s Manual of Style
 * Read “It’s No Accident”
 * Browse Wikipedia articles to find examples of word choices or phrases that seem important in light of these two readings. Record your observations by completing the assignment on Blackboard by midnight on Monday September 5.

Resources: Wikipedia's Manual of Style, It's No Accident

For Thursday, September 8


 * Read Editing Wikipedia Articles on Women’s Studies, and Evaluating Wikipedia
 * Be thinking about topic areas of interest to you and looking to see if there are stubs or start class articles or articles with problems to be resolved.
 * Complete the training for Evaluating Articles and Sources

Resources: ,

Library Lab day - Ekstrom W102

Week 4

 * Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve its language and grammar, and make a note of the proposed changes on the article's talk page.  (You do not need to alter the article's content.)
 * You might improve the clarity of a sentence or two
 * You might suggest a change in diction (word choice)
 * You might identify a claim that needs citation support
 * You might make a technical edit (grammar, spelling, syntax, etc.)

Thursday, September 15


 * If appropriate, make the change to the article(s) that you proposed in the talk page(s) on 9/13.
 * If you have decided that your suggestion is NOT appropriate, announce your decision and your reasons for it on the talk page(s).
 * List 3 - 5 Wikipedia articles on your user page that you will consider working on as your focus for the rest of the course. You will, eventually, choose just one.
 * Look at the talk and history pages to discover who is working on the articles you choose and what they are doing.
 * Apply the Wikipedia standards of excellence to the articles you are considering.
 * Submit a two page discussion of these potential selections via &quot;Assignments&quot; on Blackboard.

Resources: and Evaluating Articles and Sources training module

Week 5
Tuesday, September 20


 * Develop a list of research questions you will use to guide your activity in the library
 * Submit your list to Blackboard &quot;Assignments&quot; no later than the beginning of class.

In Class: Search for quality resources with the help of a research librarian

Finding quality resources and documenting them in Wikipedia.

After successfully finding resources pertinent to you topic(s), Add a statement about one of your topics to your user page. Include a citation. This statement can be as simple as: One resource that looks useful for illustrating XYZ is John Smith's article in Nature entitled &quot;jfieklskdjfkljaosdiufpoi and ewoijsdoifjalsdfjoi.&quot;

Resource: Evaluating Articles and Sources Training.


 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to the talk page of a Wikipedia article related to the class.
 * Monitor that talk page for feedback.

Week 6

 * If appropriate, make the addition to the article that you proposed on 9/22.


 * Come to class prepared to select an article that will be the focus of the rest of your work in the course. Be prepared to discuss with your colleagues:
 * Your article
 * What the current trends and discussions are on the talk pages
 * Who is interested in your topic (from the talk pages)
 * Whether you are interested in forming a team for sharing resources and/or working in the same or similar topic areas.
 * All of your work is graded individually, however
 * scholarship is collaborative.
 * There is nothing wrong with working together to achieve individual goals.

Resources:, , and Evaluating Articles and Sources training.

Location TBA


 * Begin to create a list of relevant, reliable resources for your topic and article. Post the list, with complete citation information, to the talk page of the article you are working on. By the time you contribute to your chosen article, you should  have a minimum of 8 quality sources.
 * Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check the talk page to see if anyone has suggestions or comments for your bibliography.

Week 7
NO CLASS ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 4


 * A minimum of 4 quality resources are due today on the talk page of your chosen article. Your purpose is to announce to other interested parties  materials you think will be helpful in building the article.
 * Select one resource that you believe will be central to your contribution to an article. Create a one-page summary that conforms to Wikipedia standards for neutrality and language choice. Bring multiple hard copies to class for review. Include two citations - one in MLA and one in APA format.

Week 8

 * Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure to remind you of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
 * Evaluate your chosen Wikipedia article and develop suggestions for improving it. You will bring a draft of your suggestions to class for workshopping before posting to the article's talk page.
 * A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Using_talk_pages.pdf Using Talk Pages ]


 * After making any changes you think are appropriate, post your suggestions for improvement to the talk page of your article.
 * Monitor the talk page for feedback on your suggestions.

Week 9

 * Review carefully the feedback you've received on your suggestions. Come to class with written drafts of your responses to the feedback.
 * If you have not received any feedback, look carefully at the article's history. Summarize (in writing) where your comments are situated in the history of the article's development.
 * Bring a copy of your written work to turn in during class as well as a copy for workshopping with your colleagues.

On the talk page of your article:


 * Respond to comments on your suggestions AND/OR
 * Revise your planned contribution as a response to comments OR
 * Elaborate on your planned contribution by developing your thinking further or substantiating your suggestions with additional citations.

Week 10
Come to class prepared to develop support for your plans. This is a day for making use of library resources and/or consultation with your colleagues.

Your complete list of 8 quality resources should be posted to your article's talk pages by today. Please also include that list on your own user page. On your user page, for each resource, include a brief summary of how it supports your suggestions for the article.

We may use this day for conferencing and/or workshopping. Precise plans will be announced in class.

Week 11

 * Final contributions to the article are due today. You should move out of the talk page and onto the main article.
 * Continue to monitor your contributions for feedback during the next week. Deadline for responding (for course credit) is Thursday, November 10.
 * ALSO
 * Read Chapters 1, 2, &amp; 4 in THEY SAY, I SAY
 * Come to class prepared to discuss the differences between writing for a Wikipedia purpose and writing for an academic or other persuasive purpose.


 * We will now take the research and critical assessment you have completed and switch to a mode of expression that includes rhetorical tools of persuasion.
 * All assignments from now until the end of the course will be found on your regular syllabus posted on Blackboard.
 * November 10 is the last day that work on Wikipedia articles will be included in course assessments. You should continue to monitor feedback to your contributions and respond and/or adjust through November 10.

NOV 10 IS THE END OF OUR COURSE WORK IN WIKIPEDIA. :(

Return to your course syllabus for instructions.