Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/California State University, Sacramento/Geology of Mexico (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Geology of Mexico
- Institution
- California State University, Sacramento
- Instructor
- Amelia Vankeuren
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Geology
- Course dates
- 2017-01-23 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-10 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 26
Introduction to geology through examination of aspects of the geology of Mexico. Emphasizes problem-based approach to learning geology and the process of scientific investigation.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 March 2017 | Wednesday, 15 March 2017
- 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.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.
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 - Practicing 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.
- Brainstorm possible topic
Browse through some Wikipedia pages related to the geology of Mexico and identify good candidates for editing. Keep in mind, these pages should have room for improvement.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
- Choose possible topics
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Wednesday, 29 March 2017
- Assignment - Critique an article
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article (see suggested topic list below) and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
Possible topics: Gulf of California, Yucatan Peninsula, Geography of Mexico,
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Read the article, and consider some questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Given your new geologic knowledge, is there anything that is factually inaccurate?
- Is each fact 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?
- 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?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Miramarble95 (talk) 02:30, 9 May 2017 (UTC).
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Wednesday, 5 April 2017
- Finalize your topic / Find your sources
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen 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 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.
- Best practices for working in groups
- Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page.
- Select one group member whose Sandbox space you'll all share to draft your article. 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 allow multiple people to edit from different devices at the same time. 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.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 10 April 2017 | Wednesday, 12 April 2017
- Assignment - Find sources
This week, find at least 2 sources per person in the group that will help you improve your Wikipedia page. These may not be the final sources you use, but will help you at least locate some potential sources. Remember, appropriate sources include academic journal articles, reputable newspaper or magazine articles, government reports, books, etc.
Post the citation for both of your sources in your group sandbox and on the talk page of the article. Also include a couple sentences describing what information you might use from those articles to improve your Wikipedia page.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 17 April 2017 | Wednesday, 19 April 2017
- Assignment - First draft of your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
- 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 working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you improve the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 24 April 2017 | Wednesday, 26 April 2017
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select two classmates’ articles (not in your group) that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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 7
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 1 May 2017 | Wednesday, 3 May 2017
- 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!
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing.
- Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.
- Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
- Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!
- 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!
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 [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- Prepare for in-class presentation
- Prepare for an in-class presentation about your topic and your Wikipedia editing experience.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 8 May 2017 | Wednesday, 10 May 2017
- In class - In-class Final Presentation
Present about your Geology of Mexico topic, and Wikipedia editing experience. Group presentations will be 2.5 mins/person.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:
Geology:
- Why will other people want to read your Wikipedia page?
- What did you learn about your topic?
- How does this topic connect geology to society?
- What would you want to learn more about?
Wikipedia editing experience:
- 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?
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
- Assignment - Final article
It's time to finalize your page edits. 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."
- 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!
- 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 Content Expert at any time!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.