Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/West Virginia University/WVU JRL 220 Introduction to Photojournalism (Fall 2015)

This Course Wikipedia Resources Connect
Questions? Ask us:

contact@wikiedu.org

Course name
WVU JRL 220 Introduction to Photojournalism
Institution
West Virginia University
Instructor
NancyAndrews
Subject
Introduction to Photojournalism
Course dates
2015-10-08 – 2015-11-19
Approximate number of student editors
14


As part of our Introduction to Photojournalism students are doing profiles of notable photographers. Our goal in the Wikipedia portion of the assignment is to improve the articles and increase the number of articles on female and/or people of color photographers. This is in response to a #GenderGap session held at WVU in the spring. Our focus is on those who have a photojournalism background, but we won't restrict ourselves to photojournalism.

Student Assigned Reviewing
NancyAndrews
Cmdevenney Deanne_Fitzmaurice
MynameisEstebez
Isaac.zivkovic Maggie_Steber
Ccalbright Murad_Osmann
Alecgearty Eric_Draper
Ling-ling-grace Preston_Gannaway
Jwmcgowan22 Barbara_Davidson
Nlorenze Penny_De_Los_Santos
Morales.n Lynn_Johnson
KellyDoyle
Sasha Tarabanova Annie_Griffiths
Leanneshinkle Nikki_Kahn
Paigescopel Sharon_Farmer
Nimorales
Estebez22 Mary_Chind-Willie

Timeline

Week 1: Intro to PhotoJ, photographer articles

In class - Wikipedia essentials
  • Overview of photographer presentations and Wikipedia article goals. (Each student makes one new article or significantly improves one article. Each student peer reviews two articles by other JRL 220 students.)
  • Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  • Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.
  • Photographers have been selected: Begin compiling a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources for the photographer you are profiling. Later you'll and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.



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 then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia. (Note, this one hour training is REQUIRED and you will be graded.)
  • 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? 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

Assignment - Using sources
  • Review rules of paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.



Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism


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.


In class - Discuss the article topics
  • Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.


Assignment - Drafting starter articles
  • If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
  • Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
  • Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Week 3

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.
Milestones

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.


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


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.

Week 4

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 two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the articles 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

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.


Assignment - Peer review and copyedit
  • Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
  • Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
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. Discuss our experiences 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.


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

In class - In-class presentation
  • Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.


Assignment - Final article
  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.



Handout: Polishing your article

Milestones

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