User:DaneAmanda/Critical Race Theory

Course name

Critical Race Theory

Institution

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Instructor

Amanda Robinson

Subject

Social Sciences and Humanities

Course dates

2015-02-08 – 2015-04-02

Approximate number of student editors

50

This class covers topics related to critical race theory.

Students are expected to learn, edit, and write on Wikipedia over the course of the term as a part of their major project.

Timeline

Week 1 (2015-02-02): Wikipedia essentials, Editing basics, Exploring the topic area

Course meetings

Thursday, 5 February 2015

In class

• Overview of the course
• Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
• Wikipedia is a community: a brief overview of its rules, expectations, and etiquette
• Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)

• Basics of editing
• Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
• Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
• Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
• Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure

Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement. Use the "choosing an article" handout for guidance.

Assignment (due Week 2)

• Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.

• Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.

• To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.

• Read through this brochure on evaluating Wikipedia articles, especially pages 4-7. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.

• Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • A few questions to consider (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 biased 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?

Milestones

• All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 2 (2015-02-09): Using sources and choosing articles

Course meetings

Thursday, 12 February 2015

In class

• Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Assignment (due Week 3)

• Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

• Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

For next week

• Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by next week.

NO CLASS WEEK OF 2015-02-16

Week 3 (2015-02-23): Finalizing topics and starting research, Drafting starter articles

Course meetings

Thursday, 26 February 2015

In class

• Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.

• Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
• Q&A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.

Assignment (due Week 4)

• Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page.

• Mark your article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. Add this code in the top section of the talk page:

{{course assignment | course = User:DaneAmanda/Critical Race Theory | term = Spring 2015 }}

• Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

• If you are starting a new article, write an outline of the topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia lead section of 3–4 paragraphs in your sandbox. Wikipedia articles use "summary style", in which the lead section provides a balanced summary of the entire body of the article, with the first sentence serving to define the topic and place it in context. The lead section should summarize, very briefly, each of the main aspects of the topic that will be covered in detail in the rest of the article. If you are improving an existing article, draft a new lead section reflecting your proposed changes, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check that page often to gather any feedback the community might provide.
• Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your lead section and fix any major issues.
• Continue research in preparation for writing the body of the article.

Milestones

• All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 4 (2015-03-02): Moving articles to the main space

Course meetings

Thursday, 5 March 2015

In class

• Handout: Moving out of your sandbox

Assignment (due Week 5)

• Move sandbox articles into main space.
  • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
  • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.

• Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 5 (2015-03-09): Building articles, Creating first draft, Getting and giving feedback

Course meetings

Thursday, 12 March 2015

In class

• Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
• Share experiences and discuss problems.
• Handouts: "Uploading images" and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)

• As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.

Assignment (due Week 6)

• Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

• Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

• Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
• Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.

Milestones

• Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 6 (2015-03-16): Responding to feedback, Continuing to improve articles

Course meetings

Thursday, 19 March 2015

In class

• Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.

• Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.

Assignment (due Week 7)

• Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

• Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
• Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Milestones

• Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 7 (2015-03-23): Finishing touches

Course meetings

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Assignment (due Week 8)

• Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.

Milestones

• Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 8 (2015-03-30)

Course meetings

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Milestones

Week 9 (2015-04-02)

Review

Week 10 (2015-04-09)

Review

• Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading by Thursday April 10 at 11:59PM, please also submit wikipedia reflection, and word document with contributions and user name to Blackboard dropbox.

Grading

  10%  

   Completion of Wikipedia training

  20%  

   Early Wikipedia exercises (in-class) and participation

  10%  

   Peer reviews and collaboration

  40%  

   Quality of your main Wikipedia contributions

  20%  

   Supplementary assignments (1-2 paragraph reflection on Wikipedia experience)