Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Wisconsin Milwaukee/Limnology 1 (Fall 2020)
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- Course name
- Limnology 1
- Institution
- University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Instructor
- John Berges
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Ecology
- Course dates
- 2020-09-02 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-19 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 27
The course provides an introduction to the science of limnology (fresh waters), specifically lake ecosystems. Students learn to characterize such systems in physical, chemical and biological terms. The major term assignment involves applying the techniques students have learned to a particular "favorite lake" (emphasizing Wisconsin lakes), compiling detailed information about this lake. Using the information gained to edit existing Wikipedia entries or to create new ones about the lakes represents an extremely valuable experience for the students and can help significantly improve the encyclopedia. We are collaborating with WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Thursday, 3 September 2020
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.
Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resources:
- 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. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 8 September 2020 | Thursday, 10 September 2020
- Assignment - Your first edits
Each lake page you'll find in Wikipedia will likely give a number of statistics. Find a page a examine them. What are the units?
In science, as we have discussed, we use SI. But most American readers will likely better comprehend "English" units (note the irony here...a country that fought a revolution to be free of British rule is now one of the few in the world still using British units...like measuring short distances based on the length of an English King's foot!).
Check the units for your lake page. If there are English units alone, add SI units. You can find conversions with a quick Google search, e.g. "convert feet to meters" or "convert acres to hectares". If there are SI units, double check them...are they correct.
Be careful of Significant Figures/Digits. Do you understand the concept? Hint: if I put in "12 feet" Google gives me "3.6576 meters" ...see anything wrong?
Post a short summary of what you found and what you did to the Canvas site Discussion "Editing a Lake for SI units", including a link to what you did.
- Assignment - Evaluating and Editing Wikipedia
- In class - Discussion
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 15 September 2020 | Thursday, 17 September 2020
- In class - Picking your favorite lake
- Milestones
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 22 September 2020 | Thursday, 24 September 2020
- In class - Begin project research
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 29 September 2020 | Thursday, 1 October 2020
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 6 October 2020 | Thursday, 8 October 2020
- In class - Continue research and writing
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 13 October 2020 | Thursday, 15 October 2020
- In class - Continue research and writing
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 20 October 2020 | Thursday, 22 October 2020
- In class - Continue research and writing
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 27 October 2020 | Thursday, 29 October 2020
- Assignment - Peer review an article
- In class - Discussion
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 3 November 2020 | Thursday, 5 November 2020
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 10 November 2020 | Thursday, 12 November 2020
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 17 November 2020 | Thursday, 19 November 2020
- Continue improving your article
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 24 November 2020 | Thursday, 26 November 2020
- 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
-
- Tuesday, 1 December 2020 | Thursday, 3 December 2020
- 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
Post an Executive Summary with a link to your page to the Class Discussion.
Week 15
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 8 December 2020 | Thursday, 10 December 2020
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.