How to improve Wikipedia (and your career) without getting the Internet mad at you
Everybody knows what Wikipedia is, but have you ever wondered: Where does it come from? Who are these mysterious people who create the content on Wikipedia? And how can I contribute myself?
This course will teach students how to write for Wikipedia, interact with the Wikipedia community, and better appreciate how Wikipedia works both as an encyclopedia and as a social movement. Wikipedia, the sixth most visited website on the Internet and the largest reference work ever assembled, is not only a great outreach avenue for increasing public understanding of topics of academic interest; contributing to Wikipedia can also be useful as a professional development tool to develop communications skills and interact with a community of editors who can provide feedback on one's work. This course will introduce newcomers to Wikipedia's specific content rules and social norms in a hands-on manner as students edit articles on Wikipedia and eventually create their own new Wikipedia article.
This is a syllabus for a two week, ten session course that introduces students to the technical and social aspects of contributing to Wikipedia.
Day 1 – Wikipedia essentials edit
- Topics:
- What is Wikipedia?
- The five pillars
- Core content guidelines
- Slides: From Introduction to Wikipedia, Working on Wikipedia, and other sources
- Assignment: Register Wikipedia accounts
Day 2 – Editing workshop edit
- Topics:
- Learn how to edit articles
- Set up user page in class
- Video: Wikipedia User Name, Great Feeling
- Handouts: Wiki markup quick reference, Reference formatting
- Assignment: Read WP:V (lead and first 3 sections), WP:NPOV (lead and first 2 sections), and WP:NOR (lead and first 2 sections)
Day 3 – Article selection and reliable sources edit
- Topics:
- Verifiability, neutrality, and no original research policies
- Deciding what articles are good to improve for this course
- Video: Verifiability and neutral point of view
- Handouts: Referencing on Wikipedia, Avoiding plagiarism
- Example articles for discussion: Ed Mangano, Nanopollution
- Assignment: Make three minor edits to articles, choose three candidate articles to work on
Day 4 – Interacting with the Wikipedia community edit
- Topics:
- Etiquette and social norms
- WikiProjects and article assessment
- Quality articles and soliciting feedback
- Handouts: How to get help, Evaluating article quality, Introduction to free licenses
- Assignment: Find three sources for your primary article, one source for your secondary article
Day 5 – Writing workshop edit
- Topics:
- Help with article selection and editing issues
- Add a sourced paragraph to an existing article in class
- Assignment: start writing new article in user space
Day 6 – Conflict resolution edit
- Topics:
- Talk pages and consensus on Wikipedia
- Deletion mechanisms
- Noticeboards and arbitration
- Assignment: give feedback on another student’s article
- Readings: WP:Consensus, Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia, chapter 5, sections 1–2 and 6–8
- Assignment: Pick one of the discussions listed at WP:CENT, and prepare a five-minute talk summarizing the discussion. Some items you may want to include are: How did the discussion come about: was it the result of a dispute, or is it a new proposal? Has this topic been discussed previously? What is the topic for discussion, and what are some of the viewpoints that have been expressed? Do you have an opinion on the topic?
Day 7 – Writing workshop edit
- Topics:
- Move articles into main article space
- Nominate for Did You Know
Day 8 – Wikipedia and the world edit
- Topics:
- Wikimedia Foundation and local chapters
- Controversies on biographies of living persons
- Coverage of political topics
- Controversy on conflict of interest editing
- SOPA blackout
- Readings: WMF SOPA statement, NYT SOPA article
Day 9 – Wikipedia collaborations edit
- Topics:
- GLAM collaborations (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums)
- Wiki Loves Monuments competition
Day 10 – Student presentations edit
- Topics:
- What did students learn? What were their experiences?