- Course name
- Arh 480/580
- Institution
- University of Arizona
- Instructor
- Stacie Widdifield
- Subject
- Art History
- Course dates
- 2014-01-22 – 2015-05-08
- Approximate number of student editors
- 15
This is an art history course that is designed to have students acquire 21st century skills. The Wiki assignment will promote critical thinking, research, writing, and collaboration. Students will be writing a WP page about a print held in the collection of our university museum. We hope to link this to the gallery section of the main Diego Rivera page. This includes murals, painting, and sculptures, but no prints. I would like to have them review the main Rivera page as well (for the supplementary assignments).
Timeline
Week 1 : Wikipedia essentials
- In class
- Overview of the course
- Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
- Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
Week 2 : Editing basics
- In class
- Basics of editing
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
- Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
- Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
- Assignment (due Week 3)
- 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 to any Wikipedians helping your class (such as a Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.
- Milestones
- All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 3 : Exploring the topic area
- Assignment (due Week 4)
- Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
- Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)
Week 4 : Using sources and choosing articles
- Assignment (due Week 5)
- 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. Ask your instructor for comment.
- For next week
- Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by Week 5.
Week 5 : Finalizing topics and starting research
- In class
- Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.
- Assignment (due Week 6)
- Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page.
- 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.
Week 6 : Drafting starter articles
- In class
- Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
- Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
- Assignment (due Week 7)
- 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 the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page.
- 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 7 : Moving articles to the main space
- Assignment (due Week 8)
- Move sandbox articles into main space.
- Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see detailed instructions) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education Foundation staff and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors can provide support for this process.
- Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 8 : Building articles
- Workshop in class or outside of 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)
- Assignment (due Week 9)
- Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
- Select three classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Week 9 : Getting and giving feedback
- In class
- 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 10)
- Peer review three of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
- Copy-edit the three reviewed articles.
- Milestones
- All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.
Week 10 : Responding to feedback
- In class
- Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
- Assignment (due Week 11)
- Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback.
- Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Week 11 : Class presentations
- In class
- Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.
- Assignment (due Week 12)
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
- Put together a Wikipedia portfolio.
Week 12 : Due date
- Milestones
- Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.
5%
Completion of Wikipedia training
0%
Early Wikipedia exercises
2%
Quality of bibliography and outline
2%
Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
10%
Quality of your main Wikipedia contributions
5%
Supplementary assignments