Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh/Parasitology (Spring 2018)
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- Course name
- Parasitology
- Institution
- State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh
- Instructor
- Alyssa Gleichsner
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Parasitology
- Course dates
- 2018-01-29 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-16 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 10
This course serves as an introduction to parasitology. Topics include basic parasite biology (host-parasite co-evolution, life cycles of parasites, transmission, and disease) as well as an overview of key parasite groups (microparasites - protozoans, ameobas, gregarines, etc. - macroparasites - trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, etc. - arthropods - flies, lice, mosquitoes, true bugs, parasitoid wasps, and arachnids - mites and ticks), and the diseases that they cause (human, veterinary, and wildlife diseases).
Timeline
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 5 February 2018 | Wednesday, 7 February 2018
- 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
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
- 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.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 12 February 2018 | Wednesday, 14 February 2018
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
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. The purpose of this assignment is to get you familiar with Wikipedia from an editor's standpoint - how to evaluate articles, how to use your sandbox, how to view and contribute to talk pages. (29 points, Due: Friday 2/16).
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Complete the "Sandboxes and Mainspace" training (linked below).
- Complete the "Plagiarism" training (linked below).
- 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 Parasitology) to read and evaluate. This can be an article on a parasite, a parasitic disease, or a parasite-related topic. Record the article title and link in your sandbox. Read the article and respond to the following questions in your sandbox:
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- 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?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
- 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?
- How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
- 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 4
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 19 February 2018
- Assignment - Add to an article
The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article (23 points, Due: Friday 2/23).
1. Complete the online training "Sources and Citations" (linked below).
2. Add a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Add 1-2 sentences to a parasitology-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- 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.
- Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 26 February 2018 | Wednesday, 28 February 2018
- Assignment - Review the rules for medical topics
There are special rules that apply to articles related to medical topics. Since many of you may be contributing to articles within this realm, please review Wikipedia's rules for topics related to medicine, human health, and psychology by completing the training "Editing Medical Topics" (linked below). 3 points.
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
This week you will decide on 2-3 potential articles to which you can contribute for this course. You will record these articles and the contributions you could make in your sandbox, and I will give you feedback on whether some, or all, of them are good candidates to pursue (13 points, Due: Friday 2/30). To complete this assignment:
- Complete the "Finding Your Article" training (linked below).
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Look up 3-5 potential topics related to the course that you might want to update on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Identify one or two areas from each that you could improve.
- Choose 2-3 potential articles from that list that you can tackle, and post links to the articles and your notes about what you might improve in your sandbox.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 5 March 2018 | Wednesday, 7 March 2018
- Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
This week you will finalize your topic choice and begin collecting sources to use when writing and expanding your article (15 points, Due: Friday 3/9).
- Once you have feedback on which of your topics are good candidates, choose your favorite topic to work on. This will be the article that you contribute to this semester.
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
- 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, too.
- Compile a list of at least 5 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.
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Assignment - Draft your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing. A complete draft of your article is due on Monday 3/19 (20 points). This draft must be completed by this date because we will be doing peer-reviews during that week.
To create your draft use the following tips
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
- Assignment - Expand your draft
- 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.
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 19 March 2018
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
Peer review, during which you get feedback from your peers, is a critical element to science. All scientific manuscripts go through peer review to ensure that they are of high quality. As a reviewer, you are responsible for ensuring that the information you review is correct and well-supported. Each of you will peer review and fact check two of your classmates work (20 points, Due Monday 3/26).
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training (linked below).
- You will be assigned two of your classmates articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you are assigned to review (see moodle for your assignments). Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. 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? The article should meet all of Wikipedia's standards.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 26 March 2018 | Wednesday, 28 March 2018
- 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! 10 points, Due: Monday 4/1.
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Make these changes to your article. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 2 April 2018 | Wednesday, 4 April 2018
- 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 Sandboxes and Mainspace online training.
- Assignment - Did You Know
- Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see the DYK instructions handout) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education staff can provide support for this process.
Handout: "Did You Know" submissions
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 9 April 2018 | Wednesday, 11 April 2018
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
This week, do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique. Once your article is posted on Wikipedia you can increase its visibility by linking your article to other relevant article topics. You can also improve your article by adding visual aids. Due 4/13, 13 points.
- 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.
- Complete the "Contributing Images and Media Files" training (linked below).
- Add an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure you are following these rules (outlined in the Contributing Images and Media Files training) before you upload an image.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 16 April 2018
- 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 12
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 April 2018 | Wednesday, 25 April 2018
- Assignment - Final article
It's the final weeks to develop your article. Your article should be in a final, polished (ready to be graded) state by Friday 5/04 (20 points).
- 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 or your instructor at any time!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions. 15 points, Due Friday, 4/27.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:
- Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
- Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
- Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
Week 13
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 30 April 2018 | Wednesday, 2 May 2018
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading by Friday, May 4th (20 points)