Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Iowa/It's Not Just Food (Spring 2018)

What is history? And how do we write it? Historians are not primarily concerned with collecting facts from the past. Instead, we are interested in important transformations and relations of power. Food and foodways, practices relating to the production, preparation and consumption of food, are particularly revealing markers of class, ethnic, gender and religious identities. Therefore, in this class we will use food to talk about and write history. We will use primary and secondary sources to learn how historians collect and use evidence to interpret the past and make arguments. And we’ll work together as you develop your own historical project in stages: identifying possible topics, finding sources, developing an argument, drafting your paper and making revisions.

Week 1
1.   Before class on 1/18, follow this link to create a Wikipedia User Account made up of your first name and some numbers. (E.g. stacy1212).

2.     Once you are logged in, go to the course page (need link) and enroll in our course here:  https://dashboard.wikiedu.org/courses/University_of_Iowa/It's_Not_Just_Food_(Spring_2018)?enroll=vscdwlfu

3.     Complete the training modules for this assignment (Wikipedia Essentials and Editing Basics), links below.

4.     When you are logged in, leave a message on the Talk page of a classmate. How? Click on a username from enrolled students list; on upper left corner of their user page, just under the title &quot;User Contributions,&quot; select Talk tab. On upper right, select Edit tab. Add your sentence at the bottom of editable box. Keep it anonymous and neutral (e.g. “Hi, I’m a new Wikipedia user”). At the end of your sentence, add 4 tildes Odog20 (talk) 15:29, 12 April 2018 (UTC). That ties the contribution to your username, like a signature.

5.     When you are signed in, go to “Sandbox” in upper right corner. Experiment in your Sandbox, with the help of the Editing training module you just completed. In your Sandbox, write:

·       One regular sentence (anything you want, but nothing personal or offensive)

·       One heading

·       One sub-heading

·       A link to another Wikipedia page (any page)

·       Words in bold and italics

·       A list of references in which you have at least one footnote containing a reference (you can use a book we’re reading in class)

NOTE: this should be a Wikipedia-generated footnote &amp; reference list, following the instructions in the Editing training module.


 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 5

 * It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.


 * Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).
 * Create a section in your sandbox titled &quot;Article evaluation&quot; where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
 * Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
 * 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?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

History

Week 7
1.     Complete the training module for this assignment (Evaluating Articles and Sources), link below.

2.     Hunt around Wikipedia for a topic related to our course material which you, with the help of a secondary source(s) from the library, can improve. This could be an article that is lacking key information, an article that is biased, simplistic, or wrong, or an article that lacks references.

Note: if the article you choose is very long, you should only commit to working on a section of it, and clarify what that section is. Don’t commit to working on an entire article if it is long [e.g. “Bible”], because you will be overwhelmed by the task.

3.     Come to class prepared to give a very short presentation – 2 minute long – on:

·       Why that article is problematic.

·       Which secondary source(s) will you use to solve some of the problems? What you will do to make the article better. Will you correct content? Add content? Insert &quot;citation needed&quot; tags? All of the above?

Aim for an addition / correction of between 100 and 300 words, not including references.

Week 8
After sharing your idea in class, you may have chosen to do the assignment with a classmate (up to 2 students per assignment). You may have changed your plan following my feedback or after hearing other students. You may have met with me to get help with planning your edits. All of these are fine.

In this assignment, write a short essay (1-2 pages) answering the same questions as above: * Which article did you choose? * Why that article is problematic?* Which secondary source(s) will you use to solve some of the problems. What will you do to make the article better? Will you correct content? Add content? Insert &quot;citation needed&quot; tags? All of the above?

Aim for an addition / correction of between 100 and 300 words, not including references.

1.     Complete the training module for this assignment (Sources and Citations), link below.

2.     By now you have received substantive feedback from me and have a clear idea of what you will edit. The next stage is to inform the Wikipedia community of your plans.

In the article’s Talk Page, write 2-3 sentences on what you intend to do. End your plan with an invitation to other Wiki editors to weigh in on your changes, e.g. “If anyone wants to comment on these changes, please let me know on this Talk Page or on my Talk Page.” Make sure you do this while you’re logged in, and sign after your post (Odog20 (talk) 15:29, 12 April 2018 (UTC)).

Week 12
1.     Complete the training module for this assignment (Sandboxes and Mainspace), link below.

2.     Improve the Wikipedia article you chose. It’s recommended to use your Sandbox first, preview what you’ve done, and then copy and paste from Sandbox into the article.

3.     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.

4.     If you are creating a new article, write the article in your Sandbox, and follow these instructions on how to move it out of your Sandbox:

Week 13
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

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