Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Maryland/INST201-HY11 Heroes and Villains in the Age of Information (Summer)

We all rely on Wikipedia to help us quickly get answers to our information needs. Some people generally distrust the accuracy of content on Wikipedia because it is generated by a community of anonymous contributors; however, a lot of research suggests popular Wikipedia pages are very reliable.

How does content get onto Wikipedia’s pages? What is the process for evaluating proposed changes? How does Wikipedia ensure information is correct and non-biased?

Understanding how Wikipedia works ties directly into our course discussions on information needs and information literacy. Over a couple of accelerated modules in our summer class, you’ll complete training on how to edit and evaluate Wikipedia and submit an edit to an article.

(Adapted from Wikipedia courses created by Drs. Jessica Vitak and Elizabeth Bonsignore, for INST201, Spring 2017.)

Week 1
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.

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.

To get started, please review the following handouts:


 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Create an 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.
 * When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page. (You should be able to see a list of all the students in the course on the Students tab above.)

Week 2
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. Your goals during this period are to get more familiar with Wikipedia itself, continue to take training modules, and practice in your sandbox or in the Talk section of the article that you are interested in contributing to. Consider how you would evaluate and improve upon an article. Check out any outstanding issues or requests for revisions on the articles Talk page.

Step 1: Select a new article article to work on and assign it to yourself on the Students tab (above). If you have trouble finding an article, drill down into the Wikipedia Stubs Categories to find some articles that you're interested and would like to contribute to. Ask our Wiki Edu content expert for suggestions, too, if you like.

Step 2: Evaluate the article for it's strengths and weaknesses. What might you contribute to make it better? Leave notes from your evaluation in your sandbox space. The notes don't have to be formal -- just provide some insight into your decision process: Why'd you decide to add something to this article? What do you want to add or correct?

Step 3: Through the assignment on ELMS, upload a short paragraph (~150-200 words minimum) letting me know which article that you're planning to contribute to, and why you decided upon that article. You can use the notes you made in your sandbox in the write-up that you send me.

Week 3
Here's where you add content and a related citation to the article you've chosen and assigned to yourself.   To make your contribution: (1)  Add 2-3 new sentences to your article, and (2) cite your addition, referencing a reliable source (as you learned in the online training module on Sources/Citations).
 * Make SURE to include a LINK to the article you edited in your sandbox and on ELMS.**