Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of New Mexico/Introduction to Information Studies (Fall 2017)
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- Course name
- Introduction to Information Studies
- Institution
- University of New Mexico
- Instructor
- Alyssa Russo
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Information Studies
- Course dates
- 2017-10-17 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-12 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 25
What is information? Introduction to systems of information in society and culture. Topics include: history of information, libraries, information disruptions, social media and movements, classification of knowledge, and information ethics.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 7 November 2017 | Thursday, 9 November 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia projects for OILS 101, specifically mini-research projects 2 and 3. Note that while you will use this space to complete training modules and record your edits, you will submit your written work in UNM Learn.
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.
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 14 November 2017 | Thursday, 16 November 2017
- Assignment - MRP #2 Wikipedia Article Evaluation and Analysis
- Complete the "Finding Articles", "Evaluating Articles and Sources", and "Plagiarism" training modules (linked below) by Friday, 11/17.
- See the guidelines below to aid you with MRP #2. However, your project should be submitted in UNM Learn.
Select your topic
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Your goal: find one article that you want to evaluate on Wikipedia.
- To start, search Wikipedia for what already exists in the areas you're interested - if the article is already really long or well developed, consider finding a new topic. You can review this list of stub categories to find short or underdeveloped articles (B/C/Start class--this info is on the the Talk Page) in areas you are interested in.
- Once you finalize your topic, head to the Students tab above and assign it to yourself (you can change this later if you want to change articles for MRP #3).
Evaluate what exists on Wikipedia
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings. This is not your final MRP #2 submission, it's just a place to take notes for the project.
- As you read your article, consider the following questions (check out the MRP #2 instructions in UNM Learn for more guidance ):
- 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?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- 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?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- 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?
- How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
- 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 — Golobos01 (talk) 23:20, 12 December 2017 (UTC).
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 21 November 2017
- Preparing for MRP #3
- Selecting your topic & finding sources
This is a short week with the Thanksgiving holiday, but there are a couple things you can do to stay on track for MRP #3.
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
- Take the "Sandboxes and Mainspace" training linked below.
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article. Remember that you may add content, add/fix citations, or restructure the existing content to improve the article's organization and readability.
- Think back to when you did MRP #2, the article analysis and evaluation. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
- 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.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 28 November 2017 | Thursday, 30 November 2017
- Drafting your MPR #3 contribution
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing, improving or adding citations, or restructuring the article's organization.
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
--Feel free to review the training last week on sandboxes and mainspaces.
- 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 the 'Contributing Images and Media Files' training before you upload an image.
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 5 December 2017 | Thursday, 7 December 2017
- MPR #3 Moving your work to Wikipedia
You're in the last stretch to develop your article. Your MPR #3 project is due in UNM Learn on Tuesday, December 12th by midnight.
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' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.
Final edits
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help at any time!
- Reflective essay tips
Write a reflective essay (1–3 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
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? How did this assignment change your feelings about using the content from Wikipedia articles in other classes?