User:Dr Ashton/Independent Study
- Course name
- Independent Study
- Institution
- York College - CUNY
- Instructor
- William Ashton
- Subject
- Psychology
- Course dates
- 2015-01-28 – 2015-05-14
- Approximate number of student editors
- 2
We will be learning how to edit Wikipedia so that we can work to improve existing Psychology articles and create new Psychology articles. We will be working with the Psychology WikiProject Initiative and our IS goals are similar to some of the project's goals: To remove vandalism, original research and spam. To ensure that articles are based on independent reliable secondary sources. To represent scientific controversies and scientific consensus fairly, writing articles in a neutral style. To improve and review articles to Good Article and Featured Article quality. Remember, this is an independent study. You need to work independently and complete the work regularly. In fact, you don't need me. Wikipedia is set up to allow you to learn it yourself. So you could just do it. However, I've planned an introduction to Wikipedia that we will work through. After that, I'd like you to edit 10 existing articles and create one new article and submit it for review for Wikipedia's Wikipedia:Good articles status. Actually, here's the real independent assignment. As soon as you have an article you created awarded good article status -- 1. you are done with the independent study and 2. your grade is an A+!
Timeline
[edit]Week 1 (2015-01-26): Wikipedia essentials
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 28 January 2015
- In class
- Overview of the course
- Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
- Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette
- Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
Week 2 (2015-02-02): Editing basics
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 4 February 2015
- In class
- Basics of editing
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
- Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
- Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
- Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
- Assignment (due Week 3)
- 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 then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.
- To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.
- Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.
- Milestones
- All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 3 (2015-02-09): Exploring the topic area
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 11 February 2015
- In class
- Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.
- Handouts: Choosing an article
- Assignment (due Week 4)
- Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
- Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
- A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
Week 4 (2015-02-16): Using sources and choosing articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 18 February 2015
- In class
- Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.
- Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
- 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.
- Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.
- For next week
- Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by next week.
Week 5 (2015-02-23): Finalizing topics and starting research
[edit]- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 25 February 2015
- In class
- Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.
- Assignment (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.
- By the start of our next class, find an article you want to work on and mark the article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. To add the banner, add this code in the top section of the talk page:
{{course assignment | course = User:Dr Ashton/Independent Study | term = Spring 2015 }}
- Add a link to your selected article to the table at the bottom of this course page.
- Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
Week 6 (2015-03-02): Drafting starter articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 4 March 2015
- 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 about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
- Assignment (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, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
- 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.
- Milestones
- All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
Week 7 (2015-03-09): Moving articles to the main space
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 11 March 2015
- In class
- We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
- Handout: Moving out of your sandbox
- A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
- Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
- Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.
- Assignment (due Week 8)
- Move your sandbox articles into main space.
- If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
- If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.
- Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see detailed instructions) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education Foundation staff can provide support for this process.
- Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 8 (2015-03-16): Building articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 18 March 2015
- In class
- Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
- Share experiences and discuss problems.
- Handouts: "Illustrating Wikipedia" (pgs 4-7) and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)
- Assignment (due Week 9)
- Select a classmate's article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, write your username next to the article you plan to review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Week 9 (2015-03-23): Creating first draft
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 25 March 2015
- Assignment (due Week 10)
- Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 10 (2015-03-30): Getting and giving feedback
[edit]- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 1 April 2015
- In class
- As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.
- Assignment (due Week 11)
- Peer review your classmate's article. Leave suggestions on the article talk page.
- Copy-edit the reviewed article.
- Milestones
- Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 11 (2015-04-06): Responding to feedback
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 8 April 2015
- In class
- Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
- Assignment (due Week 12)
- Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.
- Milestones
- Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 12 (2015-04-13): Continuing to improve articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 15 April 2015
- In class
- Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
- Assignment (due Week 13)
- Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
- Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.
Week 13 (2015-04-20): Continuing to improve articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 22 April 2015
- In class
- Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
- Assignment (due Week 14)
- Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
- Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.
Week 14 (2015-04-27): Continuing to improve articles
[edit]- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 29 April 2015
- In class
- Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
- Assignment (due Week 15)
- Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
- Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.
Week 15 (2015-05-04): Finishing touches
[edit]- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 6 May 2015
- Assignment (due Week 16)
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.
- Put together a Wikipedia portfolio.
- Milestones
- Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 16 (2015-05-11): Due date
[edit]- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 13 May 2015
- Milestones
- Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.
Grading
[edit] 5%
Completion of Wikipedia training
10%
Early Wikipedia exercises
15%
Quality of bibliography and outline
10%
Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
50%
Quality of your main Wikipedia contributions
10%
Supplementary assignments