Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Maryland/INST201-0101 Introduction to Information Science (Spring 2018)
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- Course name
- INST201-0101 Introduction to Information Science
- Institution
- University of Maryland
- Instructor
- Elizabeth Bonsignore
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Information Studies
- Course dates
- 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-02-28 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 100
We all rely on Wikipedia to help us quickly get answers to our information needs. Some people generally distrust the accuracy of content on Wikipedia because it is generated by a community of anonymous contributors; however, a lot of research suggests popular Wikipedia pages are very reliable.
How does content get onto Wikipedia’s pages? What is the process for evaluating proposed changes? How does Wikipedia ensure information is correct and non-biased?
Understanding how Wikipedia works ties directly into our course discussions on information needs and information literacy. Over several weeks this semester, you’ll complete training on how to edit and evaluate Wikipedia and submit your own edits to an article.
(Adapted from Wikipedia courses created by Drs. Jessica Vitak and Elizabeth Bonsignore, for INST201, Spring/Summer 2017.)
Timeline
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 6 February 2018 | Thursday, 8 February 2018
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
To get started, please review the following handouts:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Practice the Basics
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
- When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page. (You should be able to see a list of all the students in the course on the Students tab above.)
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 13 February 2018 | Thursday, 15 February 2018
- Assignment - Critique
- Selecting+Evaluating an Article and Suggesting Revisions
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll select a Wikipedia article to critique, engage with Wikipedia's policies for content, and evaluate the article's strengths and weaknesses. Consider how you would like to improve upon the article. You'll be uploading your critique to ELMS (as a Word or text doc). Use the Assignment Rubric as your guide.
I. Complete the (4) training modules listed below:
- Evaluating Articles and Sources
- Plagiarism
- Sources and Citations
- Contributing Images and Media Files
I. Select an article that you're interested in or find a "stub" article that needs work.
III. Complete your review (400-600 words) and upload it to ELMS. Be sure to include the following elements:
- Include the name of the article you selected to review. Also include a link to the article.
- Write a brief (one paragraph) summary of the Wikipedia page you're evaluating and why you selected it.
- Critique the article based on Wikipedia's standards for content (your training modules will cover this). You should also review Wikipedia's documentation on what the site "is not."
- Use the following questions to guide your review of the article:
- Are facts referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- 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? (see Wikipedia's guidance on Neutral Points of View)
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
IV. Finally, consider what changes you would make to improve the article, based on your evaluation. Make at two suggested contributions that you think would improve the article. Make sure each contribution references an appropriate, reliable source.
- Be specific: you should include the exact wording that you are suggesting for the article (or include the image and caption, if you think an image should be added).
- Explain why you think each contribution is important.
- Cite your additions to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
*NOTE: Grammar-only changes are not significant enough to receive credit. Likewise, plagiarized content or content that violates one of Wikipedia's policies will not receive credit. Therefore, it is very important you familiarize yourself with the site's editing policies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editing_policy
V. OPTIONAL: For EXTRA CREDIT, make the actual edits that you suggested in the actual Wikipedia article that you critiqued (or suggest them on the Talk page if the main page is locked). Upload them in ELMS, under the Wikipedia (Extra Credit) Assignment.