Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo/WGS 350: Gender, Race, Science and Technology (Winter 2014)/Timeline

Week 2: Women and/or People of Color in STEM Fields as Represented on Wikipedia
Due prior to class on Th 1/16/14 via the course Polylearn
 * Identify and read at least one Wikipedia article written about a scientist, engineer, or mathematician from an underrepresented group (or a related invention, discovery, or other STEM accomplishment).
 * Identify and read at least one Wikipedia article written about a scientist, engineer, or mathematician from a group that is not from an underrepresented group (or related invention, discovery, or other STEM accomplishment).
 * In at least 1 page, compare and contrast these 2 articles – from your perspective AND a WGS/ES perspective. (You can be creative/use images/etc. in your presentation.) Include at least two quotations from course readings.
 * Think about length, breadth, contextualization, types and number of sources, images
 * Think about who links to the different Wikipedia pages inside and outside of Wikipedia
 * Links to the Wikipedia article from outside Wikipedia – search “link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie”
 * Links to the Wikipedia article from inside Wikipedia – search “link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie, site:wikipedia.org”
 * Post links to sources, bibliographic information (without annotations), and your analysis prior to class. Contact the instructor in advance if you will turn in a hard copy of your analysis instead – for example, if your analysis is represented by drawings

Alternative assignment
 * Compare and contrast 2 Wikipedia articles about the same STEM topic from the English-language vs. a non-English-language Wikipedia (e.g., http://es.wikipedia.org is the Spanish language Wikipedia)
 * Follow the directions above to complete the assignment. Post links to sources, bibliographic information (no annotations), and your analysis prior to class. Contact the instructor in advance if you will turn in a hard copy of your analysis instead – for example, if your analysis is represented by drawings.

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials

 * 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)


 * Assignment (due week 2)
 * 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
 * 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: Using talk pages, Evaluating Wikipedia article quality, Wikimarkup cheatsheet
 * Assignments (due week 3)
 * Complete the online training for students.
 * 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
 * Handouts: Advice for choosing articles and How to get help
 * Assignments (due week 4):
 * 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. Ask your instructor for comment.

Week 4: Using sources

 * In class
 * Handouts: “Referencing on Wikipedia” and “Understanding Wikipedia’s copyright policy”


 * Assignment (due week 5)
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.


 * For next week
 * Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by week 5.

Week 5: Choosing articles

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


 * Assignments (due week 6)
 * Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Week 6: Drafting starter articles
interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
 * In class
 * Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about


 * Assignments (due week 7)
 * If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, write a summary version reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.


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

Week 7: Moving articles to the main space

 * In class
 * Handout: Moving out of your sandbox


 * Assignments (due week 8)
 * Move sandbox articles 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 8: Building articles

 * Workshop in class or outside of class
 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.
 * Handouts: “Uploading images” and “Evaluating Wikipedia article quality” (handed out originally in week 2)


 * Assignments (due week 9)
 * 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 9: Getting and giving feedback

 * In class
 * As a group, have the 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 week 10)
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


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

Week 10: Responding to feedback
and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
 * In class
 * Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy,


 * Assignments (due week 11)
 * Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 11: Class presentations

 * In class
 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.


 * Assignments (due week 12)
 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
 * Write a reflective essay (2-5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 12: Due date
You made it!


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

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