Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Alverno College/BI301 Microbial Ecology (Fall 2016)/Timeline
Timeline
editWeek 1: Wikipedia essentials
edit- In class
- Overview of the course
- Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
- Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
- Basics of editing
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
- Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
- Compare the biographies written about Carl Woese and Rita Colwell on Wikipedia
- Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
- Assignments (due Week 2)
- 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, and click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.
- To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, write a summary of the differences between the biographies on Rita Colwell and Carl Woese, two very important microbiologists.
Week 2: Exploring the topic area
edit- In class
- Explore the research of the women discussed in class and comment on your talk page about which women you are most interested in.
- Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia
- Assignment (due Week 3)
- Add 1–2 sentences of information about a woman scientist, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to your sandbox.
- I will respond to you and assign topics to each person by week 3.
Week 3: Bibliographies & Reading Assignments
edit- In class
- Discuss the women we will be researching on how their research is related to each other.
- Finalize choices and schedule for readings and discussion of each women's research.
- Assignments (due Week 4 & 5)
- Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it your talk page. Begin reading the sources and selecting the ones that the whole class will read.
- Continue research in preparation for writing your article, read and discuss everyone's topics.
Week 5: Drafting starter articles
edit- In class
- Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
- Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about
interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
- Assignments (due Week 6)
- If you are starting a new article, write 3–4 paragraphs and set up the structure of your article. If you are improving an existing article, write a summary version reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page.
- Begin working with classmates and other editors.
- Milestone
- All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
Week 6: Moving articles to the main space
edit- In class
- Handout: Moving out of your sandbox
- Assignments (due Week 7)
- Move sandbox articles into main space.
- Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors.
- Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 7: Building articles
edit- Workshop in class or outside of class
- Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
- Share experiences and discuss problems.
- Handouts: “Uploading images” and “Evaluating Wikipedia article quality” (handed out originally in week 2)
- Assignments (due Week 8)
- Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
- Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Week 8: Getting and giving feedback
edit- In class
- As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.
- Assignments (due Week 9 - Midterm Week)
- Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
- Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
- Milestone
- All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.
Week 9 (Midterm Week): Responding to feedback
edit- In class
- Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy,
and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
- Assignments (due Week 10)
- Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Week 10: Class discussion
edit- In class
- Students discuss their experiences editing Wikipedia.
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
- Write a reflective self assessment