Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/College of Wooster/Latin America and the United States (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Latin America and the United States
- Institution
- College of Wooster
- Instructor
- Emily Armour
- Wikipedia Expert
- Adam (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- History
- Course dates
- 2017-01-16 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-05 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
This writing intensive history seminar explores the history of the intimate but often conflictual relationship between the US and Latin America from the early 19th century to the present. Rather than having any pretensions at exhaustive coverage, we will focus on case studies primarily drawn from U.S. relations with Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, as well as emphasizing the evolving cultural, political, and economic roles of Latin
communities within the United States.
This semester we’ll focus on American Empire after 1898, and the history of Mexican immigration to the United States.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 18 January 2017 | Friday, 20 January 2017
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 January 2017 | Wednesday, 25 January 2017 | Friday, 27 January 2017
- 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 History 201 Latin America & the United States. This schedule is *not* a replacement for our class syllabus, but to provide you more detailed structure for the Wikipedia assignments.
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 Content 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 - Practicing the basics
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take; you can complete them any time before class on Friday, January 27. 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, 30 January 2017 | Wednesday, 1 February 2017 | Friday, 3 February 2017
- Assignment - Training
- "Evaluating Articles & Sources"
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below) by Monday, January 30.
- Assignment - Critique a Wikipedia Article Using the Talk Page
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. For this assignment, you'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to our course themes, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- For Wednesday's class, you wrote a blog post critiquing your choice of Wikipedia articles (Latin America - United States relations or "History of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States").
- In class, we learned how to use library reference materials like Credo, and critique their coverage of historical events.
- Drawing on your skills evaluating Wikipedia articles, pick an article of interest to you (related to our course themes, of course.) Click to the talk page, and write two comments/suggestions to improve your chosen article. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Katherine.Holt (talk) 15:42, 29 March 2017 (UTC).
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Using_talk_pages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Introduction_to_talk_pages/1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines
- In class - 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
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- Monday, 6 February 2017 | Wednesday, 8 February 2017 | Friday, 10 February 2017
- In class - 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?
- Assignment - Add to an article
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article.
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 February 2017 | Wednesday, 15 February 2017 | Friday, 17 February 2017
- Assignment - Blog Post
- 2-3 possible topics for your article
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- By 8pm on Sunday, February 12, write a blog post proposing 2-3 potential articles that you can tackle for your Wikipedia Article assignment. What content gaps do you see? What reputable sources exist to back up your added content? For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. For articles that don't exist, explain how your proposed article meets the Wikipedia "notability" guidelines.
- Comment on at least three classmates' article ideas. Which proposals have the most potential to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Latin American and Latin
history? Which have the best combination of content gaps and reliable sources?
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 20 February 2017 | Wednesday, 22 February 2017 | Friday, 24 February 2017
- Assignment - Training
- Sandboxes & Plagiarism
Complete by Sunday, February 19.
- Assignment - Finalize your topic
Complete by Sunday at 8pm:
- 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 (whether a new article or an existing stub.)
- 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.
- Assignment - Sandbox/Talk Page Posts
- Find Your Sources
Drawing on the research strategies reinforced in class today, 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 7
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 February 2017 | Wednesday, 1 March 2017 | Friday, 3 March 2017
- Assignment - Talk Page Discussion
- Structure & Content of Impossible Subjects
As you read the introduction to Ngai's book, think carefully about how to present this award-winning book to the Wikipedia community. How might we organize our article into sections? Following the conventions of talkpage etiquette, share your ideas on the Impossible Subjects Talk page.
Here are some models of history book entries:
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about Wikipedia
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
- On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
- If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 6 March 2017 | Wednesday, 8 March 2017 | Friday, 10 March 2017
- Assignment - Draft Your Article Lead
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
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 - Over Spring Break
- Expand your draft
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft that you think qualifies for "good" article status. Get full draft ready for peer-review on Wednesday, March 29.
- Ask a Content Expert to review your draft! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Wednesday, 29 March 2017 | Friday, 31 March 2017
- Our Syllabus
- Week 9
- Assignment - Peer Review Training
Complete the Peer Review Training.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
We'll peer review in class on Wednesday, March 29. Please bring your computer to class.
- I'll assign you two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you're assigned to review.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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?
- 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!
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- 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.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Wednesday, 5 April 2017 | Friday, 7 April 2017
- In class - Our Syllabus
- Week 10
- 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!
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 [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- Assignment - 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.
- 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 Content Expert at any time if you need further help!
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 10 April 2017 | Wednesday, 12 April 2017 | Friday, 14 April 2017
- In class - This is our Week 11
- Assignment - Upload your slide
- Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Write a reflective essay (500-700 words) 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?
- 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 Content Expert at any time!
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 17 April 2017 | Wednesday, 19 April 2017 | Friday, 21 April 2017
- In class - This is our Week 12
- Assignment - WGSS Wikipedia Uploading Party
Discussions of our Wikipedia editing experience with the campus community.
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?
- 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?