Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Las Positas College/LIBR 1 Working with Sources (Fall 2018)
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- Course name
- LIBR 1 Working with Sources
- Institution
- Las Positas College
- Instructor
- Kali Rippel
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Research in the African Diaspora
- Course dates
- 2018-08-22 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-12-22 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 30
Introduction to using sources as supporting documentation in a college-level research project. Teaches the skills needed to successfully find, evaluate, use, cite, and document information using the library and open web sources. Focus on identifying appropriate sources and proper use of sources. Students will learn to distinguish between source types, how to avoid plagiarism, and how to use sources in their research projects. The semester project requires students to build an annotated bibliography on a research topic within the African Diaspora and culminates with a scholarly contribution to a related Wikipedia article.
Timeline
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 10 October 2018
- In class - Introduction to the Annotated Bibliography & Wikipedia assignment
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Annotated Bibliography & Wikipedia projects, 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.)
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 17 October 2018
- Assignment - Evaluate your Wikipedia Article
Assignment Introduction
In this assignment, we will apply what we have learned so far about evaluating sources for credibility and appropriateness to our Wikipedia articles. You will also use these skills to identify content gaps. When people look to a source of information and the information isn't there, it's a content gap. Content gaps exist on Wikipedia within articles when they don't cover all of the various aspects of an issue and at the global level when Wikipedia does not have an article on a particular topic at all. Content gaps can also exist in your own research projects. Developing the ability to identify content gaps is an ability that scholars apply when critically evaluating and thinking about a topic and research. Practicing this critical evaluation technique with your Wikipedia article will help you critically evaluate your readings in ENG 1A, other classes, and as you evaluate and improve your own research projects.
Step One: Continue your Wiki-Scholar Training
Complete the two above trainings. You will need the information from the trainings in order to successfully complete the next tasks. Make sure you are logged in to Wikipedia so that you get credit!
- In a separate browser tab pull up the Wikipedia topic article that you assigned for yourself. Do not choose a different article for this assignment.
Step Two: Complete the Evaluate an Article Exercise
Take notes in your sandbox
- Get to your Sandbox by clicking on the link in the Evaluate an Article Exercise from Wikipedia or by clicking on "Sandbox" in the upper right corner of your Wikipedia article. sandbox location
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
- As you read the article you've chosen, consider the questions presented in the exercise and below as they relate to the article's content, tone, and sourcing.
- Copy and paste the questions into the sandbox and then answer the questions in the sandbox.
Evaluate article content by answering the following questions:
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- What else could be improved?
Evaluate the article's tone by answering the following questions:
Evaluating the article's sources by answering the following questions:
Now take a look at how others are talking about this article on the talk page.
- 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?
Optional activity (extra credit)
NOTE: You will not submit anything to me in class. I will be checking your sandboxes (and the timestamps) to see that they were completed and completed on time.
- In class - Discussion
- In class - Discussion
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 24 October 2018
- Assignment - Starting your Annotated Bibliography
In the next couple of weeks, you will work to gather sources to help us add well-supported information along with citations to your Wikipedia topic. You will work to create a robustannotated bibliography of worthy and reliable sources that help you understand your topic.
An annotated bibliography helps you track important information that you find, record your thoughts and reflections, and help to begin building your ideas on how the sources are related and might help you support a position or thesis on the topic.
You will end up using one or more of these sources to contribute to your Wikipedia topic page. To learn about the types of sources that meet Wikipedia's requirements, review the Evaluating Articles and Sources
- Begin by reviewing pages 103-106 in our textbook about annotated bibliographies.
- Create a document titled "LIBR 1 Annotated Bibliography for __Topic____" in your LIBR 1 Google Doc folder that is shared with me.
- Find one online news article related to your topic that meets Wikipedia's standards on the open web.
- Find one audiovisual item (movie, video, or image) related to your topic that meets Wikipedia's standards on the open web. Note: do not include a direct quote for this item.
- Find one book related to your topic in the library's collection.
- Find two scholarly journal articles (research articles, not opinions or short editorials).
- Create annotations/entries for each of the five sources you found in your annotated bibliography using the following examples as a guide.
Each annotation entry must include (in the following order):
A full citation for the source in MLA style (using the EASYBIB add-on). Be sure to correct any errors in the computer-generated citation. Use our textbook's chapter on "Using MLA Style," pages 326-354 to review what the citation is supposed to look like.
"A direct quote that highlights the main thesis, point, or argument of the source" (with a proper in-text citation).
An annotation of the source, in paragraph format with three sentences: a sentence summarizing the key thesis, point, or argument of the source; a sentence evaluating the source; and a sentence relating the source to your topic and how you could use the source to enhance your assigned Wikipedia page.
Here is an example of an annotated bibliography entry from the OWL at Purdue:
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995. Ebsco eBook Collection.
"In the meantime, we are going to concentrate on writing itself, on how to become a better writer, because, for one thing, becoming a better writer, will help you become a better reader..." (Lamott 10).
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic.
In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun. Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.
In the sample annotation above, the writer includes three paragraphs: a summary, an evaluation of the text, and a reflection on its applicability to his/her own research, respectively.
Print out your annotated bibliography, with your 5 entries, and bring it to class on November 7, 2018.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 31 October 2018
- Assignment - Finish your Annotated Bibliography
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 7 November 2018
- Assignment - Exercise
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
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
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 13
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 14 November 2018
- In class - Discussion
- Assignment - Peer review an article
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
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.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 28 November 2018
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
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
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Exercise
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.
Week 15
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 5 December 2018
- 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.