Milestones

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.)

This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. Each training completed on time is worth 20 points. Please complete before coming to class on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Assignment - Class Reading

Wikipedia Project, Phase One: discussing the pros and cons of Wikipedia.

For class on Jan. 16, please read Chapter 3: “The Case Against Wikipedia” in Thomas Leitch’s Wikipedia U, available through Canvas.

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Assignment - Locate articles

Locate articles related to controversial children's literature

Identify 5 articles on Wikipedia that are related to the controversial children's literature discussed by Alyson Miller in the article we read or that are listed on American Library Associations' yearly compilation of most challenged books, found at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 . Prior to 3pm on Monday, Jan. 28, compile and post the names of these five articles to the Canvas discussion called “List of Wikipedia articles related to controversial children's or young adult literature.” Give the Wikipedia article title plus a link. Class members will look at these lists for suggestions of articles to edit during class the week of Jan. 28.

This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity and it is worth 10 points.

In class - Evaluate Wikipedia article in class Jan. 28

Exercise

Evaluate an article

Assignment - Small edits

Small edits to to article on children's literature in class Jan. 28

This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. After evaluating the article assigned to you, everyone will make at least one small edit to a live article to practice using Wikipedia visual editor and to practice creating an edit summary. 5 points/edit. In-class assignment.

Milestones

This semester you will be asked to blog about your experiences on Wikipedia. These blogs are worth 10% of your overall grade. For each blog, I will post a prompt for you to address. In addition, you can use discussion questions provided through the Wikipedia dashboard to frame your entries. You will be asked to reflect on the research and writing processes as you go through them. These blogs will help you keep track of your evolving experience of working in Wikipedia and may be used in writing your final reflection due in May. They will also help you to internalize ideas about how and why writing works (and sometimes does not), an understanding that has been shown to make writers more effective.   You will be required to write 5 blogs and post 5 responses to classmates' blogs. Each blog should be about 350 words and is worth 20 points if it meets all criteria, including being posted on time to the appropriate discussion board on Canvas. Please see rubric and guidelines below. Each response to a classmate's blog is worth 5 points if it is posted on time and follows the guidelines for responding. Please respond to a post that has 2 or less comments. If a blog has three comments, look at someone else's.

Please see handout on the assignment on Canvas for further details.

Assignment - Wikipedia blog #1

Wikipedia blog #1 + response to classmate

Blog #1 due by Friday, Feb. 1 at 11:59pm.

Reponse to a classmate's blog #1 due by Sunday, Feb. 3 by 11:59pm.

This blog is worth 20 points if it meets all criteria. The response is worth 5 points if posted on time and follows the guidelines. Please see the handout on the assignment on Canvas for rubric and guidelines.

Please address these three areas in a coherent, focused manner by using paragraphs with strong topic sentences.

1.    Explain your stance on Wikipedia at the beginning of the semester. We wrote about this topic in class after our discussion of the chapter “The Case Against Wikipedia.”

2.    Describe and reflect upon your initial experiences on Wikipedia, including creating a Wikipedia account, using the dashboard for our class, the first four tutorials, evaluating Wikipedia articles, and making live edits. What challenges did you encounter? What successes did you have? Is working in Wikipedia what you imagined it might be? What questions and concerns has this initial work created for you? What has it clarified for you about how Wikipedia functions?

    3.Explore a writing concept – “discourse community.” We can consider Wikipedia a discourse community, a group of people communicating with each other around a common set of goals and values, and using certain types (genres) of texts and specialized language to meet these goals. As such, it has conventions that regulate how members should interact. What are the common goals and values of the Wikipedia community as you understand them so far? What conventions, rules, or guidelines have you encountered about communicating on Wikipedia? What genres or types of texts are used for communicating on Wikipedia? What specialized language have you encountered working within the Wikipedia community? 

In class - Editing Jan. 30

      Editing articles on controversial children's literature - Jan. 30

      1. Select a Wikipedia article from the lists generated by your classmates.

      2. Assign the article to yourself through the dashboard.

      3. Evaluate the article using the questions from the evaluation exercise you’ve done before. It’s posted above. Post your evaluation notes in your sandbox. Be sure these notes are labeled to differentiate them from your previous evaluations. (15 points).

     4. Make at least 5 small live edits to the article based on your evaluation. Each edit is worth 5 points. Be sure to include a edit summary for each edit. Small edits include fixing citations, revising sentences for clarity, correcting proofreading errors, and adding 1-2 sentences of new content. Aspirational goal for this assignment is to add 1-2 sentences of new content based on class sources such as the Miller article. Another good source for information is Credo Reference, a compilation of encyclopedias available through Lauinger Library. Here is the link:  Credo Reference

Assignment - Training

Training to complete by 2:45pm, prior to class on Jan. 30.

This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. Each training completed on time is worth 20 points. Please complete before coming to class.

In class - Evaluate Drama Article - Feb. 4

This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. We will evaluate the article on Drama in class. 15 points for completing this activity. The first step is to create a section in your sandbox called "article evaluation of Drama" where you can note your observations about the article in response to the prompt on the class agenda. 

Discussion questions on content gaps

What's a content gap?

Discussion questions on nuetrality and reliability

In class - The Bluest Eye

Activity TBD.

In class - Evaluating Wikipedia articles on A Wrinkle In Time - Feb. 19

• Select either the Wikipedia article on the book or the movie, and decide if the article follows the basic format described in the handout. What does the article have/cover that is mentioned in the handout? What is missing and could be added to the article? Then find one source using a database from Lauinger Library, either Credo Reference or Literature Resource Center.
• Label and post your evaluations to your sandbox. This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. The evaluation is worth 15 points.

a.   Credo Reference

b.     

Literature Resource Center (LRC)

Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Books

Films

LGBT+ Studies

Women's Studies

Assignment - Wikipedia Blog #2 + response to classmate's blog due

Reminder: Blog about your experiences on Wikipedia. These blogs will help you keep track of your evolving experience of working in Wikipedia and be used in writing your final reflection due in May. 

Blog #2 due by Friday, Feb. 22 at 11:59pm.

Reponse to a classmate's blog #2 due by Sunday, Feb. 24 by 11:59pm.

This blog is worth 20 points if it meets all criteria. The response is worth 5 points if posted on time.

Assignment - Locate articles related to the Tucson Controversy and Rethinking Columbus

Identify 5 articles on Wikipedia that are related to the section of Rethinking Columbusyou read or that are related to the Tucson controversy to which we as a class may make edits. Prior to class, please post the names of these five articles to the Canvas discussion called “Wikipedia articles related to Rethinking Columbusand to the Tucson controversy”. This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity and is worth 10 points.

In class - Editing Wikipedia articles related to the Tucson controversy - 2/27

      - Select a Wikipedia article from the lists generated by your classmates.

 - Assign the article to yourself through the dashboard.

 - Conduct an evaluation of the article using the questions from the initial activity or the handout from Wikipedia on structure of articles. Put the evaluation in your sandbox and label it clearly. 15 points towards Wikipedia Project, Phase One.

Evaluate an article

Books

Films

'

     - Make at least two small edits. Each edit is worth 5 points. This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity. Be sure to include a edit summary for each edit. Please make these live edits by 11:59pm today. Small edits include fixing citations, revising sentences for clarity, correcting proofreading errors, and adding 1-2 sentences of new content. Aspirational goal for this assignment is to add 1-2 sentences of new content based on class sources such as Rethinking Columbus, the Acosta article, the Cabrera et al article, and the documentary. Another good source for information is Credo Reference, a compilation of encyclopedias available through Lauinger Library. Here is the link: Credo Reference

In class - Evaluating Wikipedia article on the two Persepolis novels - 3/18/19

          Evaluate the Wikipedia article for Persepolis

a.    Use both means of evaluation with which we are now familiar: the list of questions from the evaluation activity and the handout about the structure of a book article.  Post these evaluations to your sandbox with an appropriate heading. This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity worth 15 points.

b.    Then meet with a small group and agree upon one edit each person will make in the section of the article assigned to your group. These are the sections:

                                              i. Lead + Background

                                             ii.     Sectional summary

                                            iii.     Character list

                                            iv.     Genre/Style

                                              v.     Analysis

                                            vi.     Reception + Other + See Also

b.     Please make this edit to the LIVE Wikipedia page by Tuesday, March 19 at 11:59pm. The edit is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity worth 5 points.

In class - Documents to use in evaluating Persepolis article

Evaluate an article

Books

In class - Evaluate your article - 3/25 and 3/27

A worksheet for this activity will be provided.

In class - Library research - April 1 and 3

In class - Wikipedia blog #3 and response to classmate's blog due

Reminder: Blog about your experiences on Wikipedia. These blogs will help you keep track of your evolving experience of working in Wikipedia and be used in writing your final reflection due in May. 

Blog #3 due by Monday, April 8  at 1:59pm.

Response to a classmate's blog #3 will be completed in class on Monday, April 8.

This blog is worth 20 points if it meets all criteria. The response is worth 5 points if posted on time.

Assignment - Training for drafting your contributions

Please complete these two trainings by the end of class on April 10, by 3:15pm. They are each worth 20 points if completed on time, and they count as Wikipedia Project, Phase One activities.

Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun drafting the new content for their article.

In class - Peer review - April 15

Peer reviewers today will not be looking at the whole article, just the new content you will be adding to the article.

Please answer the questions on the handout. There are questions to answer before and after you complete the peer review.

1. Answer questions 1-2 on handout.

2. Then read and respond to the work of two classmates in their sandboxes.

To get started for each review, navigate to the page where your peer is drafting their contribution to Wikipedia. This will usually be their sandbox, but if you aren't sure, ask. Use the Talk page of that sandbox page to leave feedback.

If your class is drafting their work in sandboxes, follow these steps:

·     Find your peers' sandbox. Navigate there from the Students (or Editors) tab of your Course page...or just ask them.

·       Go to the talk page of their sandbox.

·       Click "New section".

·       Add a subject, something like "Samantha's peer review".

·       Leave your notes in the space below.

·       Save the page.

3. After completing feedback for two classmates, answer questions 3-4 on the handout about the feedback you received.

4. Turn handout in to Professor Fuisz at the end of class.

In class - Respond to your peer review - April 17

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.

In class - Article peer review

Guiding framework

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia - April 24

Please complete the training prior to the start of class. The training is worth 20 points if completed on time, and it counts as a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity.

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

In class - Wikipedia Blog # 5 + response to classmate

Reminder: Blog about your experiences on Wikipedia. These blogs will help you keep track of your evolving experience of working in Wikipedia and be used in writing your final reflection due in May. 

Blog #5 due by Friday, April 26 at 11:59pm.

Reponse to a classmate's blog #4 due by Sunday, April 28 by 11:59pm.

This blog is worth 20 points if it meets all criteria. The response is worth 5 points if posted on time.

Assignment - Continue improving your article

Exercise

Add links to your article

Please complete the training by the end of the day, 4/24/19 by 11:59pm. The training is worth 20 points if completed on time, and it counts as a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity.

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.

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!

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 on May 5 by 11:59 pm. 

A final reflection on the process of working with Wikipedia will also be due on Sunday, May 5 by 11:59 pm and can be submitted via Canvas. Wikipedia provides some questions to consider in the prompt below. A detailed description of this assignment will be provided at the start of Phase Two of the Wikipedia Project. There is no final exam for this class.   

Assignment - Reflective essay

Guiding questions