Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Carleton University/INDG 4000 Special Topics - Indigenous Women (Winter 2016)

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Course name: INDG 4000 Special Topics - Indigenous Women

Institution: Carleton University

Instructor: Kahente Horn-Miller

Wikipedia Expert: Adam (Wiki Ed)

Subject: Indigenous Women

Course dates: 2016-01-06 – 2016-04-06

Approximate number of student editors: 10

This course will explore the experiences of Indigenous women from historical to contemporary times with an emphasis on five specific themes: Creation; Traditional Roles and Responsibilities; Contact and Conquest; Impacts of Colonialism; and Resistance. Topics within those themes will be covered through a variety of sources including assigned readings, lectures, multimedia presentations, film or documentary, and guest speakers.

Timeline

Week 1

In class - Wikipedia essentials

Overview of the course
Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.

Handout: <a href="http://wikiedu.org/editingwikipedia">Editing Wikipedia</a>

In class - Practicing the 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: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Using_talk_pages.pdf">Using Talk Pages</a>, <a href="http://wikiedu.org/evaluatingwikipedia">Evaluating Wikipedia
</a>

Assignment - Practicing the basics

Create an account and join this course page.
Complete the introductory training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
Create a User page.
To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the 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.

Milestones

All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 2

In class - How to find an Indigenous Woman as a topic

Discuss topics for Wiki Articles.

Handouts: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choosing_an_article.pdf">Choosing an article
</a>

Week 3

In class - Using sources

Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Handouts: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citing_your_sources.pdf">Citing Sources</a> and <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avoiding_plagiarism.pdf">Avoiding Plagiarism</a>

Supplementary training: <a href="../../../training/students/sources">Sources and Citations</a>

Assignment - Find an Indigenous woman as your subject

Start researching and find some women who either do not appear on Wikipedia or have only a short "stub" entry.
Once you've decided on a woman, go to the dashboard course page and list the woman's name under the "Students" tab. (Make sure that no one else has already chosen this woman first.)
Make an appointment with the MadOdrum Indigenous Content Librarian Martha Attridge Bufton (Martha.AttridgeBufton carleton.ca).
You must find at least two substantial, independent sources written about the woman (and ideally more). Interviews, and the woman's own website do not count, although you can use them in addition to the independent sources.

Research tools: <a href="http://www.library.carleton.ca/">MacOdrum Library</a> <a href="https://library.carleton.ca/research/subject-guides/indigenous-studies">Indigenous Studies Portal</a> * <a href="http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-8000-e.html">Library and Archives Canada</a> * <a href="https://www.nfb.ca/">National Film Board of Canada</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/">Google Scholar</a> <a href="https://news.google.com/">Google News
</a>
Remember: All contributions to Wikipedia must be properly cited, just like an academic essay, so keep track of where you get your information! Sources must be both independent and reputable. That means that the subject’s own website is NOT considered a reliable source.

Week 4

In class - Discuss the article topics

Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.

Supplementary training: <a href="../../../training/students/sandboxes">Sandboxes and Mainspace</a>

Assignment - Finalize your topic and start researching

Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your topic on the course page.
Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources 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.

Week 5

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.

Assignment - Drafting starter articles

If you are starting a new article, write an outline of the topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia lead section of 3–4 paragraphs in your sandbox. Wikipedia articles use "summary style", in which the lead section provides a balanced summary of the entire body of the article, with the first sentence serving to define the topic and place it in context. The lead section should summarize, very briefly, each of the main aspects of the topic that will be covered in detail in the rest of the article. If you are improving an existing article, draft a new lead section reflecting your proposed changes, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check that page often to gather any feedback the community might provide.
Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your lead section and fix any major issues.
Continue research in preparation for writing the body of the article.

Week 6

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: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moving_out_of_your_sandbox.pdf">Moving out of your Sandbox</a>

Week 7

In class - Building articles

Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
Share experiences and discuss problems.

Resources: <a href="http://wikiedu.org/illustratingwikipedia">Illustrating Wikipedia</a> and <a href="http://wikiedu.org/evaluatingwikipedia">Evaluating Wikipedia</a>

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.)

Week 8

Assignment - Complete first draft

Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 9

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.

Supplementary training: <a href="../../../training/students/peer-review">Peer Review</a>

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.

Week 10

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.

Week 11

In class - Discuss further article improvements

Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.

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.

Assignment - Prepare for in-class presentation

Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 12

In class - Group Presentations on Wiki Articles

In Class presentation on Wiki topic.

Assignment - Final article

Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.

Handout: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polishing_your_articles.pdf">Polishing your article</a>

Assignment - Wikipedia portfolio

Put together a Wikipedia portfolio.

Week 13

Milestones

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