Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Virginia Tech/Introductory Sociology (Fall 2019)

The goal of Introductory Sociology is to provide students with a broad overview of the discipline of sociology. By the end of the class, students should be able to:


 * 1) explain the origin and development of sociology as a discipline, and to distinguish its purpose from those of other social science and humanities disciplinary traditions
 * 2) apply social science theories and concepts to improve understanding of both individual development and social institutions


 * 1) analyze empirical data and secondary sources to illustrate, challenge, or complicate existing social science theories
 * 2) develop and demonstrate skills for respectful interaction, empathy for others, and civic responsibility via participation in class discussions and activities

Students will take Exam 1, Exam 2, and a Final Exam. The Wikipedia project, to be completed in pairs, will be due one week before the last day of class. Students must sign up as a pair (or be randomly assigned a partner) by the end of Week 2.

Week 1
Use Canvas to sign up together with a partner with the same group number. If you don't know anyone in class, sign up in any empty slot within a group.

Week 2
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.

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Week 4
Choose your topic / Find your sources

What's a content gap?

Biographies

LGBT+ Studies

Sociology

Women's Studies

Exercise
Add a citation

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Week 6
Guiding framework

Thinking about Wikipedia

Week 7
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 8
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 9
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 10
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

Exercise
Add links to your article

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 12
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 13
It's time to complete 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!

Guiding questions

Week 14
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia. Upload a copy of your article and your reflective essay to Canvas by Dec. 4, 11:59pm.