Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/University of Nevada, Las Vegas/Independent Research (2013 Q1)/Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia Essentials

 * Goals: Create Wikipedia and APSWI accounts. Complete APSWI tutorials 1-4.


 * Before Class
 * Read Welcome to Wikipedia
 * Read Five pillars, a explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles


 * In Class Activities
 * Overview of how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Complete Creating a Wikipedia and APSWI Acount
 * Enroll as a student
 * Start APSWI tutorials 1-4. These are on the left hand menu, near the bottom, under Resources.


 * Homework
 * Finish APSWI tutorials 1-4.

Week 2: Editing Basics

 * Goals: Learn basic editing.


 * Before Class
 * Watch Talk pages tutorial video
 * Read Wikimarkup cheatsheet
 * Read Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure


 * In Class Activities
 * Sign up on the list of students on the very bottom of this syllabus.
 * Introduce yourself to one of the class's Online Ambassadors (via talk page) and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.
 * Create your own talk page by clicking "My talk".
 * Complete APSWI tutorials 5-11. Remember, these are on the left hand menu, near the bottom, under Resources.


 * Homework
 * Finish APSWI tutorials 5-11.


 * Milestone:
 * All students have Wikipedia and APSWI user accounts and have started editing.

Week 3: Wikipedia Culture

 * Goals: Start learning about Wikipedia culture and copy edit an article.


 * Before Class
 * Read Neutral point of view, read the lead and section 1 titled “Explanation of the point of view”
 * Read No Original Research, read the lead
 * Read Verifiability, read the lead and sections 2.1 and 2.2 titled “Reliable sources” and “Newspaper and magazine blogs”


 * In Class Activities
 * Access the course articles on APSWI.
 * Complete Copy Editing Assignment.


 * Homework
 * Finish Copy Editing Assignment.

Week 4: Choosing articles

 * Goals: Pick articles to improve.


 * Before Class
 * Go to the APS Wikipedia Initiative website. Click on "Course Articles" on the left hand side. Read the leads and skim the body of at least five articles.
 * Select three articles you would like to work on from the articles listed under course articles in APSWI.
 * List these three articles in the section labeled "Articles" after Week 12 at the bottom of this syllabus. You do this by typing your article name and clicking the 'Add Article' tab.
 * In Class Activities
 * Talk with other students and with the ambassadors about the articles you read. Evaluate the articles according to the criteria for a good article (covered in week 2). If possible, find other students who are interested in the same articles as you.
 * During class, we will determine the article that you will work on.
 * To stay up to date on your article, you should read any changes that other Wikipedians have made. Use View History, compare versions.
 * Milestone
 * Everyone knows what article they are going to work on.

Week 5: Using Sources

 * Goals: Learn how to cite sources


 * Before Class
 * Read Referencing handout
 * Read Referencing: Wikicode handout
 * Read Plagiarism handout
 * Watch Citing sources tutorial video
 * Watch RefToolbar citation tool tutorial video


 * In Class Activities
 * Complete Sourcing Assignment


 * Homework
 * Finish Sourcing Assignment.

Week 6: Envisioning final articles

 * Goals: Outline final article and start editing.


 * Before Class
 * Watch Evolution of an article video
 * Read and print Article Evolution Grades
 * Locate additional information about your topic. What's missing?  What would a good article on this topic include?


 * In Class Activities
 * Work with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to write an outline (in Microsoft Word) that lists the content the article will have AFTER it's been improved. Drafting your work in Word allows you to save your file frequently to protect yourself against computer crashes,  polish your writing before posting, and work on your ideas over multiple times.


 * Homework
 * Meet with your reviewer to discuss your proposed outline.

Week 7: Discuss vision

 * Goals: Finalize the outline of your article.


 * Before Class
 * Locate additional information about your topic.


 * In Class Activities
 * Revise outline based on reviewer feedback.
 * Copy and paste your outline at the end of the article talk page, and introduce this outline by saying that you are working on the content of the article and that this is an outline of the content you think the article should have.


 * Homework
 * If other Wikipedians reply to your post on the talk page, discuss the article with them on the article talk page.

Week 8: Building articles

 * Goals: Start editing your articles.


 * Before Class
 * Watch Article assessments video
 * Locate reliable sources to expand your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.


 * In Class Activities
 * Work with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to incorporate your new sources.
 * Polish the writing and re-organize the article as necessary.
 * Post a comment at the bottom of the talk page, explaining the changes you made.


 * Homework
 * Keep working on your article.

Week 9: Adding pictures

 * Goals: Add relevant pictures.


 * Before Class
 * Read Uploading images handout
 * Watch Uploading files to Wikimedia Commons video


 * In Class Activities
 * Talk with your classmates and the Wikipedia Ambassadors to decide which pictures to add.
 * Locate appropriate pictures through | Wikimedia Commons.
 * Upload images to Wikimedia Commons, if you used other source.
 * Add images to articles.
 * If you were unable to find all the images you wanted, post a comment on the talk page to ask for other images that would be helpful.
 * Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit, and add your name to the reviewers list on the syllabus. (You don't need to start reviewing yet.)


 * Homework
 * Finish adding the images you selected.
 * Continue editing your article.

Week 10: Getting and giving feedback

 * Goals: Give peers feedback on their articles.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Re-read Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure


 * In Class Activities
 * Peer review two of your classmates' articles.
 * Provide suggestions on the talk pages for improving the article, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article using Article Evolution Grades as a guide.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


 * Homework
 * Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.


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

Week 11: Incorporate Feedback

 * Goals: Incorporate the feedback given to you last week.
 * Before Class Activities
 * Continue editing your article based on peers' feedback.
 * In Class Activities
 * Continue incorporate the feedback you received.
 * Polish the writing.


 * Homework
 * Finish incorporating feedback.

Week 12: Submitting to Did You Know?

 * Goals: Submit to Did You Know.


 * Before Class Activities
 * Read Submitting articles to Did You Know


 * In Class Activities
 * Submit to Did you Know


 * Homework
 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 13: Class presentations

 * Goals: Prepare for your presentation by presenting to 2 people.


 * In Class Activities
 * Practice presentations
 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.
 * Incorporate feedback you received from other Wikipedians.


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

Week 14: Due date

 * Goals: Present about your articles and your experience.

You made it!


 * Before Class Activities
 * Finish preparing your presentation.
 * Incorporate feedback you received from other Wikipedians.


 * In Class Activities
 * Present your article, and discuss your experiences in editing 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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