Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/North Dakota State Univsersity/Mineralogy (Fall 2015)
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- Course name
- Mineralogy
- Institution
- North Dakota State Univsersity
- Instructor
- The-prospector
- Subject
- Mineralogy
- Course dates
- 2015-08-24 – 2015-12-24
- Approximate number of student editors
- 22
This course provides an introduction to mineralogy. We will examine minerals from crystallographic, chemical, physical and thermodynamic points of view. We will learn how to identify and classify minerals, and how to measure their properties using a variety of methods including X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. We will apply our knowledge by analyzing scientific literature on mineralogy. We will learn from a combination of lectures, in-class exercises and discussion, guest speakers, homework assignments, term papers and field experiences.
Timeline
Week 1: Mineralogy
- In class - Wikipedia essentials
- Overview of the Wikipedia assignment
- Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.
Handout: Editing Wikipedia
- Milestones
- Basics of editing
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
- Tips on finding a subject for the class assignment
Handouts: Using Talk Pages, Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Practicing the basics
- 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.
- 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 mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.
Resources: Online Training for Students
- Milestones
All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 2
- Milestones
- Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
Week 3
- Assignment - Choosing your topic
- The list of potential topics for your project is found on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minerals_C_%28complete%29. Choose one in red you will work on.
- Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Request the sources from Ineterlibrary Loan or find them on the internet. When available, begin reading the sources.
- In class - Discuss the article topics
- Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.
Week 4: Working week - no assignment
- Assignment - Moving articles to mainspace
- Move your 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 the instructions in the "Moving out of your sandbox" handout.
- Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
- Milestones
- In class - Moving articles to mainspace
- We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
- A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
- Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
- Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.
Handout: Moving out of your Sandbox
Week 5
- Assignment - Complete first draft
- Expand your article into a complete first draft.
Week 6
Week 7
- In class - Discuss article improvements
- Continue discussing how the articles can be improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
Week 8
- Assignment - Final article
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
Handout: Polishing your article
Week 9
- Milestones
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.