Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of California, Berkeley/Civic Technology (Fall '22)

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Course name
Civic Technology
Institution
University of California, Berkeley
Instructor
David Harris
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Business Administration
Course dates
2022-08-24 00:00:00 UTC – 2022-12-17 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
31


As you prepare to cast a vote in what may be your first election, you will be invited to explore the ways in which social media and related technologies are reshaping political landscapes around the world. In the course, we will look at the ways in which politicians have already adopted social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, paying close attention to current developments in national, state and local politics as events unfold in real time during the semester. We will also closely examine an array of emerging “civic technologies,” including those developed by new political parties (Pirate Party, Partido de la Red), nonprofit organizations (Democracy.Earth, Participatory Democracy Foundation), for-profit startups (Hustle.com, PopVox) and government agencies (We The People, Tunisian and Icelandic crowdsourced constitutions, eStonia, Participatory Budgeting). Students will be encouraged to develop critical perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of new approaches to democracy from technical, political-economic and critical-theoretical perspectives.

Student Assigned Reviewing
SealSquared Civic technology, Comparison of civic technology platforms FiscalNote, American Civics Test, Algorithmic radicalization
SeenaBerkeley Swing Left Civic technology, Algorithmic radicalization, DoNotPay
Yd003 2020 California Proposition 22
Gobears18 FiscalNote Civic technology, Algorithmic radicalization, American Civics Test
Cfeldmar Democratic media Civic technology, Algorithmic radicalization, American Civics Test
Civictech Participatory budgeting Smart Approaches to Marijuana
Thomasquinnild Civic application Alice Lee (civic leader), DoNotPay, Doug Ducey
Farouk Najjar ClearGov Civic application, DoNotPay, Alice Lee (civic leader)
DrPronoun Algorithmic radicalization Civic technology, FiscalNote, Civic technology companies
Wafflehouse777 Doug Ducey, American Civics Test, United States, Hilo, Hawaii, Hilo High School, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Algorithmic radicalization, FiscalNote, Civic technology, Participatory budgeting
SkyradBear Weak artificial intelligence DoNotPay, Code for America, American Civics Test
Lolbabycowboy Alice Lee (civic leader) 2020 California Proposition 22, American Civics Test, DoNotPay
Adinjoshi1 DoNotPay Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Alice Lee (civic leader), 2020 California Proposition 22
Zeinaxd 2020 California Proposition 22, ClearGov, Civic application
Malak8462000 Civic technology companies Swing Left, FiscalNote, Algorithmic radicalization
Lavarball13 Code for America

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 24 August 2022
Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings
Wednesday, 31 August 2022
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Week 3

Course meetings
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 4

Course meetings
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
In class - Discussion

What's a content gap?

Assignment - Add to an article

Week 5

Course meetings
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Assignment - Exercise
Finalize your topic & Find your sources
Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Biographies

Books

Films

History

Political Science

Sociology

Week 6

Course meetings
Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

In class - Discussion

Thinking about Wikipedia

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7

Course meetings
Wednesday, 5 October 2022

Week 8

Course meetings
Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Assignment - Peer review three articles

Guiding framework

Milestones

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

Week 9

Course meetings
Wednesday, 19 October 2022
In class - In-class presentation

Guiding questions

Assignment - Respond to your peer review

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:

  • Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
  • Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 10

Course meetings
Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Assignment - Exercise
Did You Know (optional)

Nominating your article for Did You Know

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 11

Course meetings
Wednesday, 2 November 2022
Assignment - Continue improving your article

Exercise

Add links to your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 12

Course meetings
Wednesday, 9 November 2022
Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 13

Course meetings
Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Assignment - Final article

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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Week 14

Course meetings
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Assignment - Reflective essay

Guiding questions

Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.