Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Washington University/Bio4492 - Infectious Disease (Fall 2017)

Bio 4492 is an upper level discussion-based class that intended to familiarize students with topics in infectious disease and microbiology.

Week 1
The first step in this assignment will be for everyone to create a Wikipedia account.


 * If you have not already created an account, we will go over this in-class on Tuesday 09/25 to make sure that everyone on the class is registered before the next assignment.
 * Once everyone has an account, I will add you as students to the course page on Wikipedia where you will be able to see a timeline of what is expected for the assignment.

Once you have created an account and joined the course, please complete the following tasks to get started on Wikipedia:


 * Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
 * 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!
 * While completing these assignments, it may be useful to refer to the Wikipedia editing guidebook.
 * Please complete the modules below by the end of the week on Friday at midnight (09/29/17). The modules are just reading and should take about an hour in total.
 * Obviously, this assignment will not be possible without an account, so it will also be expected that you have an account and have joined the course by this date.
 * Completion of the modules by the expected date will be worth 5 points.

Please email me (dennis.zhu@undefinedwustl.edu) if you have trouble accessing or completing any of the modules.

In class on Thursday 09/28, we will go over the expectations and goals for this assignment.

To get ready for next week, look over some topics and microbiology that you find interesting and look at the status of the Wikipedia articles for those topics.


 * Look up 3-5 potential topics related to the course that you might want to update on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Identify one or two subsections from each that you could improve. Alternatively, if you feel that a notable topic is missing from an article, consider writing a new subsection.
 * Your sandbox is a good resource to keep track of articles that you are thinking about.
 * For this assignment, submit a list of 3-5 topics that you are interested in contributing to. Send the list to Dennis by Wednesday 10/04/17 by midnight so that we can discuss them in class on Thursday.
 * This assignment will be worth 5 points.

Week 2

 * Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
 * What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
 * What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
 * What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?

Since we will be contributing to articles involving medical topics, please review Wikipedia's rules for topics related to medicine, human health, and psychology.


 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
 * Submit a document that includes:
 * Your chosen topic
 * 3-5 sentences explaining the gap in content on that topic
 * 3-5 primary sources on the topic
 * When selecting your sources, identify what type of articles will be the most useful for addressing the gap of knowledge in the Wikipedia article. If the article is missing key information about the topic, an older source may be necessary. Most likely, the article can be improved by adding information that has been discovered in a contemporary source.

The assignment is due by midnight on Tuesday 10/17 and should be emailed to Dennis (dennis.zhu@undefinedwustl.edu). I will review your topics and then give you feedback on Thursday 10/19. Once your topic has been approved you can start writing the first draft of your article.


 * This assignment will be worth 10 points.

Week 3
Continue reviewing articles to edit and researching sources for these topics.

If you need help, feel free to email Dennis (dennis.zhu@undefinedwustl.edu).

Week 4
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing your first draft. This draft should be written in a separate word document and not directly on the Wikipedia page. Feel free to explore and contribute the Talk page of the topic you are writing about to see what other editors are talking about. (Contributions to the Talk page will not be graded)

The first draft will be graded for completion and shared for peer-review. Keep a few things in mind as you are writing:


 * Remember to keep your tone neutral and follow the rules of
 * Your audience is an intelligent member of the general public, so avoid jargon.
 * Include in-text citations when you are referencing information from one of your sources.
 * Write concisely, the target length of the section you are writing is 150-300 words. Identify the key developments and conclusions that can be extracted from your sources. Try to avoid including technical details and extraneous information.

Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

'''Improving an existing article?

'''


 * Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

This assignment should be submitted to Dennis through email (dennis.zhu@undefinedwustl.edu) by midnight on Thursday 11/02. Completion of the assignment will be worth 20 points.

Once all of the drafts have been submitted, you will be assigned a classmate's article to read and peer review.

Week 5
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.


 * Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
 * If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the &quot;Get Help&quot; button in your sandbox to request notes.

Week 6
On Thursday night 11/02, you will receive an email with the first draft of a classmate's article to peer review along with a grading rubric. Use the rubric as a guide for your review.


 * Reviewing should be performed using the 'Track Changes' feature in Microsoft Word. If you do not have Microsoft Word or need help using 'Track Changes', email Dennis or contact him before or after class.
 * Include a 2-3 sentence response to the draft. Comment on the overall tone/language of the article. Does it read like an article you might expect to find on Wikipedia?

Recommendations from Wikipedia

First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training.


 * Peer review your classmates' drafts. If you are participating in the Talk pages for the topics, leave suggestions on on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?

This assignment should be submitted to Dennis through email by midnight on Tuesday 11/07. Completion of your peer review will be worth 10 points.


 * Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see the DYK instructions handout) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education staff can provide support for this process.

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Handout:

Week 7
In class on Thursday 11/09, you will receive a document with feedback on your first draft from both a peer review and your instructor. Read over the comments in each document and begin working on the final draft of your article!


 * Be sure to address the suggestions in your feedback. Either revise your article to satisfy the review or justify why you do not think the article needs changes in your Peer Review Feedback
 * You may need to research additional sources for your topic as you write
 * Remember that the target length for your article should be 150-300 words. This length is just a soft guideline. Your articles may be slightly longer but should not be significantly shorter.
 * Use the rubric that you used for your peer review as a guideline for how the final draft should be written. The final draft will be graded on an additional criteria of 'Revision' based on effort in improving the final draft from the second draft.


 * 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!

This assignment will be due on Thursday 11/30 at midnight. The final draft of your article will be worth 30 points.

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!

Choose at least 2 specific changes or recommendations mentioned in either your peer review or instructor feedback. Either state how you will address the changes, or justify why you believe the article does not need the changes. Each response should be 1-2 sentences.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
 * Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

This assignment is due Thursday 11/16 by midnight. Completion of this assignment will be worth 10 points.

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

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!

Write a short reflective essay (1 paragraph) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:


 * Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
 * Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
 * Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
 * Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
 * Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?

Submit this reflection to Dennis when you submit the final draft of your article by Thursday 11/30. The reflection will be worth 10 points.

Week 9
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.

Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

'''Editing an existing article?

'''


 * NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
 * Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
 * Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.

This assignment is optional and will not be included in your grade for the overall assignment. We may spend a day in class to try and get our articles onto Wikipedia proper. It would be really great to see the work that you put in available to the public!

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
 * Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take Contributing Images and Media Files training before you upload an image.