Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Alberta/Wetland Restoration (Winter 2017)

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 - Enroll your username in this course page & take introductory trainings

Due Wednesday, Feb 8th.

If you haven't yet, 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.

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings

Monday, 13 February 2017

Assignment - Critique an article

By Monday, Feb 13th.

It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.

Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
Read and evaluate the following Wikipedia articles:
As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- 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- Is any information out of date?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?
- What kinds of sections are included in the article? Which would you include in the article you want to write?
Choose at least 1 questions relevant to one of the articles you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Mjwatcho (talk) 03:00, 15 April 2017 (UTC). [reply]

Week 3

Course meetings

Monday, 20 February 2017

Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources

By Monday, Feb 20th.

It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself.

Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
After discussions with Professor McIntosh, finalize the topic(s) that you want to write about and head to the Students tab above and assign it to yourself.
- Some ideas to consider: do you want to add new sections to existing articles about the impacts of off-road vehicles? Do you want to create a new article about the topic generally? Do you want to create a new article about Wetland Restoration generally?
- Even if it's a new article you can assign yourself your chosen topic. Just make sure the title of the article is clear, reflective of the content you plan to write, and spelled properly.
- If you want to work on more than one article, make sure you assign yourself all of your chosen topics.
In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article(s).
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page.
- Start compiling 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.

Week 4

Course meetings

Monday, 27 February 2017

Assignment - Draft your article

By Monday, Feb 27th.

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing. To start, take the new training modules linked below.

Creating a new article?

Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

Improving an existing article?

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 reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Week 5

Course meetings

Monday, 6 March 2017

Assignment - Expand your draft & submit it for review

By Monday, March 6th.

Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for review.
By Monday, March 6th your draft should exist in full in your sandbox space. Submit your draft to Professor McIntosh for review - you can just email her a link to your sandbox space.
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.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings

Monday, 13 March 2017

Assignment - Respond to your review

By Monday, March 13th.

You probably have some feedback from your instructor and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!

Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.

Milestones

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 7

Course meetings

Monday, 20 March 2017

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

By Monday, March 20th.

Once you've made improvements to your article based on your instructor 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.

Week 8

Course meetings

Monday, 27 March 2017

Assignment - Continue to improve your article; add an image

By Monday, March 27th.

First: Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.

Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.

Second: Now that it's live, you'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to your article.

Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11.
When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked below.
When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org.
If you want to add an image of your own, remember: Don't just upload an image straight to Wikipedia. Instead, upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook.

Week 9

Course meetings

Monday, 3 April 2017

Assignment - Final article

By Monday, April 3rd.

It's the final week to develop your article.

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.

Week 10

Course meetings

Monday, 10 April 2017

Assignment - Reflective essay

By Monday, April 10th.

Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:

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?
Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
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?