Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Texas State University/Public personnel administration (spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Public personnel administration
- Institution
- Texas State University
- Instructor
- Emily Kay Hanks
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- public administration
- Course dates
- 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-01 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
Course description: A study of public personnel systems in the United States with major concentrations on the national civil service system. Special emphasis is given to current research in the areas of leadership, informal organization, motivation, and small group theory.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 3 February 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
Welcome to the Wikipedia project's course timeline.
This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. It breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. You should use the information contained here in conjunction with the assignment descriptions on our TRACS page.
This week, please review the following readings:
- Wikipedia group research project overview (located on TRACS under "assignments/wikipedia group research project overview)
- Theories: Wikipedia and the Production of Knowledge
- Assignment - Get connected with a Wikipedia account / enroll on Wikipedia course page
- If you don't already have a Wikipedia user account, it's time to create one.
- Join / enroll on this course page, using the enrollment link located in the assignment instructions on TRACS.
- Be sure to complete before coming to class on 2/03.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should gain a basic understanding of the project and how it fits into the course, have a Wikipedia account, and be enrolled on our course page.
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 10 February 2017
- In class - Wikipedia basics
Now that the project is officially underway, you should make a habit of signing in to Wikipedia before you begin any work. If you don’t login, your contributions are not linked to your Wikipedia user id and could result in you not receiving credit for the assignment.
Our course has been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
This week, please review the following handouts:
- Assignment - Practicing the basics
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.
- Milestones
Everyone has completed 2 of the online training sessions and practiced editing.
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 17 February 2017
- In class - Identifying your topic / Joining a team
This week you'll start working as part of a team. We'll begin by discussing what research tells us about groups, including the process of becoming a team. In class, you will develop a team charter--a document that sets forth your group's goals and expectations about participation and performance.
This week, please review the following readings:
- All teamwork readings are posted on our TRACS page .
- Assignment - Article selection
It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself.
- Find an article from the list of available articles on TRACS and sign up for it.
- Be sure to complete this assignment before class on 2/17.
- Assignment - Team charter
The team charter is completed during class by the entire team and initialed by each team member to indicate she or he is in agreement with the expectations delineated in the charter. For specific instructions on drafting the team charter, view the assignment description on TRACS.
- Milestones
All students have selected an article that they want to research and have met with their teams to discuss group expectations.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 24 February 2017
- In class - What makes a good Wikipedia article?
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. This week, you'll evaluate your Wikipedia article, and make suggestions for improving it on your sandbox.
Before completing the article evaluation assignment, be sure to:
- Complete the trainings "Evaluating Articles and Sources" and "Sandboxes and Mainspace" (linked below).
- Read Evaluating Wikipedia.
- Assignment - Article evaluation
After reading "Evaluating Wikipedia" and completing the online trainings, "Evaluating Articles and Sources" and "Sandboxes and Mainspace," evaluate the quality of your existing Wikipedia article.
Consider some questions below (but 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?
Once you have evaluated the article, leave your comments on your Wikipedia sandbox. Be sure to begin your entry with the heading: "Article evaluation."
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 3 March 2017
- In class - Finding sources
On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? In class, we will go over the annotated bibliography assignment and engage in a discussion engaging the following questions on 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?
This week, please review the following readings:
- Annotated bibliography assignment guidelines posted on our TRACS page .
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 10 March 2017
- Assignment - Annotated bibliography
Post your annotated bibliography to your sandbox.
- First, compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography in your sandbox.
- Use the heading "Annotated bibliography."
- Then expand each bibliographic entry by adding an annotation. You can find out what elements to include in your annotation by reviewing the assignment posted on TRACS or by visiting the Purdue OWL.
- Milestones
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 24 March 2017
- In class - Developing the project proposal
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 31 March 2017
- Assignment - Project proposal
- Outline what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add?
- 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.
- Compile these thoughts into a detailed outline.
- Save a copy of the existing article as a Word document.
- Incorporate the group's comments on the existing Wikipedia entry using the "track changes" function of Word.
- Turn in a hard copy of this document by the end of class on Monday, April 3rd.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 7 April 2017
- Assignment - Team meeting / Group evaluation
feedback from me.
- Milestones
at this point all teams have a clear game plan on how to proceed.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 14 April 2017
- In class - Moving your work to Wikipedia
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- 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.
Before moving your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace" keep in mind the following advice on 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!
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 21 April 2017
- Assignment - Initial article revision
all groups have begun editing their article and placed edits on articles mainspace
- Assignment - Peer review
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- After you’ve finished the training, click on the “Students” tab at the top of the course page. Locate your Wikipedia user ID/name. Here you’ll see both the article you are working on and the article you have been assigned to review.
- Use the “Peer Review Form” downloaded from TRACS to evaluate the article you’ve been assigned to review. Note: this is the same form that I will use when grading your group’s final Wikipedia contributions.
- After you have completed the review, post a summary of your comments to Wikipedia on the article’s talk page under a heading labeled "Peer Review". Your comments should be posted no later than 5pm on Friday, April 21st.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Friday, 28 April 2017
- Assignment - Polishing your article / Final article revisions
Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
- Re-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.
- Re-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 Content Expert at any time!
- Assignment - All article edits are complete
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.
- Assignment - In class presentation
Present about your Wikipedia editing experience