Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Maryland/Digital Rhetorics (Spring 2018)
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- Course name
- Digital Rhetorics
- Institution
- University of Maryland
- Instructor
- Melanie Kill
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Rhetoric and Writing Studies
- Course dates
- 2018-01-25 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-10 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
In this upper-division rhetoric course we study the social significance of the ways digital texts are composed and circulated. In Spring 2018, we will explore why it matters how the Web is written and who does the writing. The course emphasizes discussion of contemporary rhetorical theory as well as active experimentation with digital tools as we expand our theoretical understandings through critical making.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Thursday, 25 January 2018
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia Project
Welcome to your Wikipedia Project timeline!
This page will guide you through the Wikipedia Project for English 489J: Digital Rhetorics. The timeline breaks down the project of writing a Wikipedia article into a series of tasks, along with weekly milestones. These tasks include online training modules to help you get started on Wikipedia.
Because you are likely to have questions along the way, your class has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button at the top of this page.
Okay, let's get started! Please begin by reviewing the following handouts:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
- Create an account and use the enrollment link your instructor sent you to join this course page. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online training modules you'll need to complete. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete training modules will be reflected in your grade.
- When you finish the training modules, practice your new skills by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 30 January 2018 | Thursday, 1 February 2018
- Assignment - Copyedit an article
Get started editing Wikipedia with 1-3 minor edits. Choose an article. Read through it, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. Then, be sure you are logged in and go ahead and make the appropriate changes. You don’t need to contribute new information to the article.
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
- What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
- Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
- What does it mean to write from a neutral point of view (NPOV) on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
- Assignment - Evaluate an article
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll record notes about your observations and ideas.
- Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- 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?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that should be added?
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
- Check out the Talk page of the article. 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?
- How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way it's been discussed in class?
- Choose at least one question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Jami (Wiki Ed) (talk) 21:49, 28 March 2018 (UTC).
- Assignment - Add to an article
Complete the training module below and then get some more practice editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement with a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add a citation or to correct the statement and add a citation.
- Milestones
This week, everyone has edited Wikipedia!
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 February 2018 | Thursday, 8 February 2018
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about sources, copyright, and plagiarism
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- Books and articles written by experts are considered good sources of reliable information. Why?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Look up 3-5 potential topics related to the course that you might want to improve on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already discussing. Identify one or two areas from each that you could improve.
- Choose 2-3 potential articles from that list that you can tackle. Post links to the articles, reliable sources you could cite, and your notes about what you might improve in your sandbox.
- Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.
- Milestones
This week, everyone has identified articles on Wikipedia that they can improve.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 13 February 2018 | Thursday, 15 February 2018
- Best practices for working in groups
- Once your group has an intructor-approved Wikipedia article to work on, make sure everyone in the group is assigned to that article on the Students tab of this project page.
- Select one group member whose Sandbox space you'll all share to draft your article. (It will be titled something like User:Diderot/sandbox.) Each person should link to that shared Sandbox from their own Sandbox page. A sandbox is like any other page on Wikipedia, and anyone can edit it.
- Wikipedia doesn't handle multiple people editing from different devices at the same time very well. If you're working together in person, one person should add the work to the Sandbox. If you are all working independently, make small edits and save often to avoid "editing conflicts" with classmates. Make sure that you're logged in under your own Wikipedia account while editing in your classmate's sandbox to ensure your edits are recorded.
- Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited.
- Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
- On the Students tab, assign your instructor-approved topic to yourself.
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
- Compile a list of 5-10 relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
- Guides for writing articles in possible topic areas
- Assignment - Draft your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
Creating a new article?
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
Improving an existing article?
- Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun researching and writing article drafts.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 20 February 2018 | Thursday, 22 February 2018
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about encyclopedias
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
- On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
- If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
- Assignment - Expand your draft
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 27 February 2018 | Thursday, 1 March 2018
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
Editing an existing article?
- NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
- Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
- Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.
Creating a new article?
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the Sandboxes and Mainspace online training.
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Now that your article is live, consider how you can make it even better.
- Watch the Talk page and edit history of your article and respond to any concerns raised by other Wikipedians.
- Consider adding links from your article to others and from other articles to your own.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links.
- Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
- Consider adding an image to your article.
- Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11. When you've reviewed those pages, complete the training module linked below.
- When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org.
- Once you've found an appropriate image, first upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons, then add it to the Wikipedia article you are editing. If you have questions, take another look through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook or get help from your Wikipedia Expert.
- Milestones
This week, everyone revised their drafts and moved their work from the sandbox into mainspace.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 6 March 2018 | Thursday, 8 March 2018
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work. Be sure to 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!
- 2018 Fembot Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
2018 Fembot Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
University of Maryland, College Park
March 8-10
Details to come.
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 13 March 2018 | Thursday, 15 March 2018
- Assignment - Wikipedia Project Reflective Essay
Write a reflective essay (2-3 pages) on Wikipedia as a site of digital rhetorics.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your experience with networks, software (MediaWiki), and users.
- Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
- Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
- Peer Review: Include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does writing for Wikipedia differ from other writing assignments? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of scholarship in the field of Digital Rhetoric? Why is this important?
Revise and edit for focus and clarity, then submit your essay via ELMS.
- Milestones
You've finished your Wikipedia Project for class. Congratulations!
Now that you know how to edit Wikipedia, keep going! Next time you're reading a Wikipedia article and notice something that could be improved, hit the Edit tab and share your expertise.