Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Brock University/NUSC 1P10 Professional and Therapeutic Communications (Fall 2014)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials and editing basics

 * In class
 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Handout: Welcome to Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wikimedia Foundation)


 * Prior to lab
 * Start the online student orientation. During this training, you will create an account (using the format specified by the professor), make edits in a sandbox, and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.


 * In lab (September 8 or 9)
 * Orientation to Wikipedia and editing in Wikipedia
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Handouts: Using talk pages, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality, Wikimarkup cheatsheet


 * Assignment (due September 10)
 * Complete the online student orientation and complete quiz on course Sakai webpage
 * Add user information to course page Enrol in Wikipage for NUSC1P10
 * Introduce self to other group members, on the other students' talk pages
 * Set up one group sandbox for the group to use


 * Milestone:
 * All students have completed introductory training
 * All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page
 * Group sandbox pages are created.
 * All students have posted information on talk pages.

Week 2: Good article criteria

 * In class
 * What makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Using talk pages Help:Using talk pages


 * Assignment (due September 17)
 * Critically review assigned article (or part of article) and post review on group sandbox talk page. Each student should identify at least two opportunities to improve the article. Students who post later in the week should build on and consider previously posted reviews.

Week 3: Exploring the topic area

 * In class
 * Review good article criteria
 * Handouts: How to get help
 * Assignments (due September 24):
 * Respond to other group members' reviews
 * Collaboratively decide on priorities for editing and what kind of information the group needs
 * Milestone
 * All students have contributed to discussion on talk page

Week 4: Locating Credible Sources

 * In class
 * Searching for credible secondary sources online and in the library


 * Handouts: Identifying reliable sources (medicine) and “Understanding Wikipedia’s copyright policy”


 * Assignment (due October 1)
 * By September 29, each student posts information about at least 3 sources information about relevant credible secondary sources of information (citation; one or two sentences describing the kind of information that this source will contribute; and, if applicable, a link to the source)
 * Students will communicate within groups, via their talk page, to ensure that there is no repetition of sources (i.e., each student contributes at least three independent sources). Throughout the project, group members will collaborate to identify whether additional sources are required.
 * By October 1, duplicate sources among the group are identified and and replaced with alternate relevant credible secondary sources


 * Milestone
 * Each group has identified initial credible sources to begin editing
 * Professor provides feedback about relevance of sources

Week 5: Summarizing Content

 * In class
 * Discuss plagiarism and academic integrity policies of Wikipedia and Brock University


 * Handout Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia and Quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing


 * For next week
 * Prepare summaries from sources
 * Continue to research as needed

Week 6: Collaboration and Wikipedia editing

 * In class
 * Discuss Wikipedia culture and etiquette
 * Discussion about collaboration
 * Review referencing in Wikipedia
 * Handouts Understanding Wikipedia Referencing and Wikicode for Referencing


 * Assignments (due October 22)
 * Each student posts 3 summaries of relevant content from their sources sources on group sandbox talk page, with suggestions of where the content would best fit in the article (this should typically be between 250 and 400 words)
 * Respond to posts on the talk page, discussing consistency and inconsistency of information in the group's sources, and identify if more information is needed
 * Contribute to discussion about editing plans

Week 7: Editing article in sandbox

 * In class
 * Handout: Moving out of your sandbox


 * For next week
 * Each student contributes to revisions of article in sandbox, including citations
 * Students discuss and refine editing

Week 8: Building articles

 * Class
 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.
 * Handouts: “Uploading images” and “Evaluating Wikipedia article quality” (handout from a previous week)
 * Online tutorial Finding images for Wikipedia tutorial


 * Assignment(due November 5)
 * Move edits to main Wikipedia article
 * Post explanation of edits on article talk page with link to group talk page (include summary of edits; rationale for edits, and summary of further edits that are needed).

Week 9: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class
 * Discussion about Wikipedia etiquette and feedback


 * Assignments (due November 12)
 * Students use good article criteria and course learning to individually peer review another group's article (as assigned by the professor). Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the reviewed articles.


 * Milestone
 * All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

Week 10: Responding to feedback

 * In class
 * Discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy,and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.


 * Assignments (due November 19)
 * Make edits to your article based on peer feedback.

Week 11: Individual reflection

 * Assignment (due November 26)
 * Write a brief (2 to 3 page) reflective essay on your experience in this assignment and your Wikipedia contributions. In your essay reflect on your experience and learning with this assignment. Consider why your experiences met or did not meet your initial expectations. Papers should be written using APA format, double spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins. Papers will be submitted to the Assignment 2 tool on the course Sakai page.

Week 12: End of Term
You made it!


 * Milestone
 * Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading, and have submitted reflective essays.

([ Click to return to your main course page and continue.])