Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Western University/My Name is URL - Writing for the Web (Fall 2017)

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Course name
My Name is URL - Writing for the Web
Institution
Western University
Instructor
Dr. Christopher Lee
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Writing
Course dates
2017-09-07 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-08 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
26


Student Assigned Reviewing
Erinshim
Torvg
Jpatte49
Pradu2
Chughe43
Ehayward1
Nfirth15
JessicaFried
Mdusastr
L orlando
Mmank42
Setkinsi
Jgolde3225
Tnolte2
Skhomyn22
Cdonati
BBLENDEM
Lly28
Svalchuk
Ajohn363
Eclark85
Emmaclarke85
Eliza m1
Clairelinner
Mgauth25

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Thursday, 7 September 2017   |   Friday, 8 September 2017
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: Editing Wikipedia

Assignment - Create your account and learn the basics
  • Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.



Resources: Online Training for Students

Week 2

Course meetings
Sunday, 10 September 2017   |   Monday, 11 September 2017   |   Tuesday, 12 September 2017   |   Wednesday, 13 September 2017   |   Thursday, 14 September 2017
Assignment - Critique an article
  • Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
  • Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • A few questions to consider (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    • Is any information out of date?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?



Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia, Using Talk Pages

Week 3

Course meetings
Sunday, 17 September 2017   |   Monday, 18 September 2017   |   Tuesday, 19 September 2017   |   Wednesday, 20 September 2017   |   Thursday, 21 September 2017
Assignment - Add to an article
  • Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Week 4

Course meetings
Sunday, 24 September 2017   |   Monday, 25 September 2017   |   Tuesday, 26 September 2017   |   Wednesday, 27 September 2017   |   Thursday, 28 September 2017
Assignment - Copyedit an article
  • Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)