Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Consumer Reports/Community educator training (winter 2015)/Timeline

Before class

 * If you wish, create a Wikipedia account then while logged in, click here to enroll in this class.
 * Bookmark this course page!
 * Review this syllabus
 * Dates and times of classes will be posted by the end of December; class will start the week of Monday 12 January 2015.

Optional homework before class: Consider who reads Wikipedia, what people expect from Wikipedia, what content on Wikipedia is highest quality, and what you might like to do on Wikipedia. Check the following lists:
 * The top 25 most popular Wikipedia articles from last week
 * The top 1000 articles by importance by the focus standards of a traditional encyclopedia
 * The highest quality articles, about 4000 of them, which have passed Wikipedia's most comprehensive review
 * Your own subject matter interests

How are these lists alike? How are they different?

Week 1: Why edit Wikipedia?

 * In class
 * Discuss purpose of course
 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course


 * Homework
 * Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
 * Create a User page, and and click the "enroll" button on the top left of this 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.

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
 * Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure


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

Week 3: How to ask for assistance

 * In class
 * Handouts: Choosing an article and How to get help


 * Assignments (due Week 4):
 * In your sandbox, write one sentence presenting a fact from a source which you cite.
 * Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia

Week 4: Tour of Wikipedia

 * In class
 * Tour Wikipedia more broadly to understand how it works and how your contribution will be evaluated.


 * Assignment (due on your own time! Your instructor will watch and follow up!)
 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

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