Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Oklahoma/Electronic Media Criticism (Fall 2021)

Our cultures talk about media all the time. Our lives are filled with people talking about media, and many of the people in this class want to work in media. The range of discussion is broad, from gossip and opinion to critique and evaluation.

All of this material in one way or another is ‘media criticism’…which can range from 1) not very helpful, to 2) somewhat helpful (for particular reasons), and 3) potentially quite helpful, but only with the right approach. In this class we want to consider all three of these. We want to discuss the meaning and popularity of the first, sort through the pile of the second, and learn how to make sense out of the third.

You might wonder…helpful toward what? That is what this class is about. You’ve already done much of this. You’ve spouted off opinions and read the opinions of others, you’ve studied texts in English classes, and you may have even read some good solid scholarly criticism. We can talk about where this stuff comes from, what it means to our culture, and how we can change that meaning.

The bottom line is this: we are all better off the more we understand how our media construct meaning and at the same time construct us, in ways that both similar and different.

Why electronic? Well, we could have used the term digital, perhaps electro-chemical, maybe even ‘time-based media.’ But each of these has its problems. We want to consider the whole scope of audio, video, and web-based media as texts for criticism.

Among the goals of this class are to understand how knowledge about media in our culture is generated, shared, revised, and refined. So one component will be an opportunity for students in the class to select a Wikipedia article they want to improve, or perhaps even develop an original article to add to Wikipedia. This will help develop an understanding of how knowledge we have about media is produced.

Week 4
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 6
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 8
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Films

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9
Guiding framework

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 10
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 11
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 12
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

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!

Week 14
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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!

In Class, December 1st and 3rd

Week 15
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.