Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Beloit College/Beyond Borders and Boundaries (Fall 2017)
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- Course name
- Beyond Borders and Boundaries
- Institution
- Beloit College
- Instructor
- Kylie Quave
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Writing
- Course dates
- 2017-08-28 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-26 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 15
This course introduces students to the tenets of reading, researching, and writing by investigating global culture histories and modern geo-politics. The central themes about which students will write are the real and imagined, political and social boundaries we find in the world today and in the past. Focusing on peer review and collaborative drafting processes, we will examine quantitative and qualitative evidence of how humans have traversed borders to bring cultures into contact and conflict. A major project involves public scholarship on artifacts in the Logan Museum of Anthropology.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 11 September 2017 | Wednesday, 13 September 2017 | Friday, 15 September 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.
Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
To get started, please review the following handouts:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
- Assignment - Wikipedia training
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
- When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
- What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
- Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
- What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 18 September 2017 | Friday, 22 September 2017
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia - Individual assignment
Due Sunday 9/24 at noon
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course (and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page for extra credit). This is worth 5% of your final grade in the course. You will be penalized 10% of your grade on this assignment for every 24-hour period in which it is late.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below). 10%
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
- Choose an article on Wikipedia related to the course theme of borders and boundaries to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these): 10%
- In your sandbox, indicate which article you chose. 10%
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? 10%
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? 10%
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 10%
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? 10%
- Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 10%
- How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
- How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class (if we have)? What is your overall impression of the article? 20%
- Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Shalor (Wiki Ed) (talk) 15:48, 26 December 2017 (UTC).
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 25 September 2017 | Wednesday, 27 September 2017 | Friday, 29 September 2017
- Assignment - Copyedit an article - Individual Assignment
Due Fri. 9/29 at 11:59 pm
This assignment is worth 5% of your final course grade. Late completion will result in a penalty of 10% of the assignment grade per 24-hour period or fraction thereof.
Choose an article. Read through it, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. Then, make the appropriate changes. You don’t need to contribute new information to the article.
Make any necessary or desirable changes to improve the article's clarity, structure, and style. You should make at least four changes and may earn up to 5 total points for completing this task.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 2 October 2017 | Wednesday, 4 October 2017 | Friday, 6 October 2017
- Assignment - OPTIONAL
- Best practices for working in groups
- Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page.
- Select one group member whose Sandbox space you'll all share to draft your article. Each person should link to that shared Sandbox from their own Sandbox page. A sandbox is like any other page on Wikipedia, and anyone can edit it.
- Wikipedia doesn't allow multiple people to edit from different devices at the same time. If you're working together in person, one person should add the work to the Sandbox. If you are all working independently, make small edits and save often to avoid "editing conflicts" with classmates. Make sure that you're logged in under your own Wikipedia account while editing in your classmate's sandbox to ensure your edits are recorded.
- Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited.
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 9 October 2017 | Wednesday, 11 October 2017 | Friday, 13 October 2017
- Assignment - Choose your topic / Find your sources
It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself.
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Find an article from the list of "Available Articles" on the Articles tab on this course page. When you find the one you want to work on, click Select to assign it to yourself.
- If you wish to choose another article, email Kylie and she will add it to the list for you to choose.
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page.
- Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
- Assignment - Add to an article (graded assignment)
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Option A: Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- Option B: The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.
You will be graded out of three points. One point is earned for completing the Training Module below. Two points are earned for enhancing an article with your addition. If your addition is not well sourced, however, you earn one point. Zero points are earned for not completing the assignment.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 23 October 2017 | Wednesday, 25 October 2017 | Friday, 27 October 2017
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 30 October 2017 | Friday, 3 November 2017
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 6 November 2017 | Wednesday, 8 November 2017 | Friday, 10 November 2017
- Assignment - Draft your article (graded assignment)
Complete details are forthcoming (complete draft due 11/20)
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
Creating a new article?
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
Improving an existing article?
- Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 13 November 2017 | Friday, 17 November 2017
- Assignment - Expand your draft
Complete draft due 11/20 (details forthcoming)
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 November 2017 | Wednesday, 22 November 2017
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select a classmate’s article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the article that you want to review. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign it to yourself to review.
- Peer review your classmate's draft. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 November 2017 | Wednesday, 29 November 2017 | Friday, 1 December 2017
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 4 December 2017 | Wednesday, 6 December 2017 | Friday, 8 December 2017
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
Editing an existing article?
- NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
- Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
- Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.
Creating a new article?
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
- Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take Contributing Images and Media Files training before you upload an image.
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 11 December 2017 | Wednesday, 13 December 2017
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
Week 14
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 20 December 2017 | Friday, 22 December 2017
- Assignment - Final article
It's the final week to develop your article.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading by Tuesday 12/19 at noon.