Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Bucknell University/History of Ecology (Spring 2014)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials

 * In class 1/16 and 1/21
 * 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)


 * Assignment (due T, 1/28)
 * Start the online student orientation. During this training, you will create an account, make edits in a sandbox, and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.

Week 2: Editing basics

 * In class R, 1/23
 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
 * Handouts and videos: Video on creating an account, Talk pages tutorial video, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure, Account and user page creation handout, Wikimarkup cheatsheet


 * Assignments (due T, 2/4)
 * Create a user page, and sign up on the list of students on the course page.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to any Wikipedians helping your class (such as a Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.


 * Milestone:
 * All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 3: Exploring the topic area

 * In class R, 1/30
 * Handouts: Advice for choosing articles and How to get help


 * Assignments (due T, 2/11)
 * Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article’s talk page.
 * Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project.

Week 4: Using sources

 * In class, R/2/6
 * Handouts and videos: Referencing handout, Referencing: Wikicode handout, Plagiarism handout, Citing sources tutorial video, RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video


 * Assignment (due T, 2/18)
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class. When you have done this, leave a message on my Talk page to tell me what edits you have made so I can give you credit for completing the assignment.

Week 5: Choosing articles

 * In class R, 2/13
 * Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.


 * Assignments (due T, 2/25)
 * Remove all but the article you are working on from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page (see bottom of course page).
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. If your topic has no talk page, post the bibliography to your own User Talk Page. See the assignment handout on Moodle for more details. Begin reading the sources.

Week 6: Drafting starter articles

 * In class R, 2/20
 * Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette.


 * Assignments (due T, 3/4)
 * Expand your bibliography to an annotated bibliography. Bring the annotated bibliography in hard copy form to class. See the assignment handout on this on our course Moodle page.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.


 * Milestone
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7: Mid-term Exam

 * No Wiki-Work this week

Week 8: Moving articles to the main space

 * In class T, 3/18
 * Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
 * Video resource: Sandbox tutorial
 * Handout: Moving out of your sandbox


 * Assignments
 * For Tues, 3/25:
 * Work with classmates, Professor Stuhl, and other editors to prepare an outline reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved. Post your team's outline for what you'll be doing on the article's Talk page with an indication of what section or sections of it you will be working on.


 * For Tues, 4/1:
 * Write from 250-400 words of your portion of the article and move it out of the sandbox and into main space.
 * Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 9: Building articles

 * Workshop outside of class on T, 3/25
 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Discuss how we're proceeding from here, including tips for dividing the labor of writing your article and communicating with each other.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.
 * Handouts: “Uploading images” and “Evaluating Wikipedia article quality” (handed out originally in week 2)


 * Assignments (due T, 4/8)
 * Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
 * Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 10: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class R, 4/3
 * Students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.


 * Assignments (due T, 4/15)
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


 * Milestone for T, 4/15
 * All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

Week 11: Responding to feedback

 * In class R, 4/10
 * Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
 * Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure (handed out originally in week 2), Article assessments video, Evolution of an article video


 * Assignments (due T, 4/22)
 * Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 12: Finishing Touches and Reflective Essay

 * In class R, 4/17
 * Reminders about expectations for in-class presentations


 * Assignments (due T, 4/29)
 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
 * Write a reflective essay (2-5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 13: Class presentations

 * In class T, 4/22 and R, 4/24
 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.

Week 13: Due date
You made it!


 * Milestone for T, 4/29
 * Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading, and have submitted reflective essays.

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