Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Alberta/Language Acquisition (Winter 2016)

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Course name
Language Acquisition
Institution
University of Alberta
Instructor
Paula Marentette
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Psychology
Course dates
2016-01-04 – 2016-04-08
Approximate number of student editors
10


This course will help you develop your understanding of how children acquire language. We use that knowledge as a means to develop a more thorough understanding of the human capacity for language. We cover research and theory concerning many different aspects of and approaches to child language. The course will focus on typical development in the infant and toddler years. This course is designated as a writing intensive course and counts toward the Writing Certificate.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Care.hail Babbling Baby sign language
Cait ash Gesture, Impact of gestures on language acquisition Babbling
Amandafoort Babbling Baby sign language
Tulsa01 Baby sign language Impact of gestures on language acquisition
Clfergus Impact of gestures on language acquisition Babbling
Sarah.Monk Baby sign language Impact of gestures on language acquisition
JessicaRJ Babbling Baby sign language
Mikailaperrino Gesture, Impact of gestures on language acquisition Babbling
Kcarlson2 Baby sign language Impact of gestures on language acquisition

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 13 January 2016   |   Friday, 15 January 2016
In class - Wikipedia essentials
  • Overview of the course
  • Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  • Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.



Handout: Editing Wikipedia


In class - Editing basics
  • 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, Evaluating Wikipedia


Assignment - Practicing the basics


  

  • Create an account and join this course page.
      
  • Complete the introductory training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
      
  • Create a User page.
      
  • To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to another student on their user talk page.
      
  • Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? 
Milestones

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

In class - Exploring the topic area
  • Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.



Handouts: Choosing an article

Week 2

Course meetings
Wednesday, 20 January 2016   |   Friday, 22 January 2016
In class - Using sources
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.



Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/sources|Sources and Citations]]


Assignment -

Review Wikipedia's rules for topics related to medicine, human health, and psychology.


Assignment - Add to an article


  

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


Assignment - Choosing your article


  • We will be working on Baby sign language, Gesture (but a development slant), and Babbling. Sign up for the one you will work on on the course page.
      
  • Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and bring it to class. Begin reading the sources. 


In class - Discuss the article topics


  

  • We will discuss the target structure of the article and assign sections to students. 




Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace
]]

Week 3

Course meetings
Wednesday, 27 January 2016   |   Friday, 29 January 2016
In class - Wikipedia culture and etiquette
  • 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 - Students propose outline of changes
  • Post outline of proposed changes and sources to be used on talk page.
  • Begin to make changes in mainspace.


In class - Changing articles to mainspace


  

  • We'll discuss making changes to main article 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.


Assignment - Editing articles in mainspace


  • Begin by copy editing your section of 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.
      
  • Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 4

Course meetings
Wednesday, 3 February 2016   |   Friday, 5 February 2016
In class - Building articles
  • Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
  • Share experiences and discuss problems.



Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


Assignment - Choose articles to peer review


  

  • Select a classmates’ article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the article you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)


Assignment - Complete first draft


  • Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 5

Course meetings
Wednesday, 10 February 2016   |   Friday, 12 February 2016
In class - Group suggestions
  • As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/peer-review|Peer Review]]


Assignment - Peer review and copyedit


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

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


In class - Media literacy discussion
  • Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.


Assignment - Address peer review suggestions
  •  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.


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


Assignment - Continue improving articles


  

  • 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.

Week 6

Course meetings
Wednesday, 24 February 2016   |   Friday, 26 February 2016
Assignment - Final article


  

  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.




Handout: Polishing your article


Assignment - Reflective essay


  • Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
  • An effective reflection reviews learning experience in depth to reveal significantly changed perspectives, which provide foundation for expanded knowledge, growth, and maturity over time. [AAC&U Value Rubric]

Week 7

Course meetings
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Milestones

Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.