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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Duke University/Regime Change and US Foreign Policy (Spring 2016)

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Course name
Regime Change and US Foreign Policy
Institution
Duke University
Instructor
Jocelyn Olcott
Wikipedia Expert
Adam (Wiki Ed)
Subject
History
Course dates
2016-01-13 – 2016-04-27
Approximate number of student editors
15


This course serves as a gateway seminar for History majors. The major final assignment is to produce a research prospectus for a paper they might produce as an honors thesis or capstone paper. The project should focus on an episode (or as aspect of an episode) in which the United States government was involved in overturning a sovereign government

Student Assigned Reviewing
Tjgoldberger
Amdelmedico
JocostaShurtis
Georgedailey
Knc989 Arusha Accords
Albertw.li95 Cuban Project
Jmnn99
Jhw26
Kcarrozza Michael Manley
Dflamini
Waterssar Rape in England in World War 2
Mwschahfer
Ccm38
Miggueva5 1953 Iran Coup d' etat

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
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

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 25 January 2016   |   Wednesday, 27 January 2016
In class - Editing 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: Using Talk Pages, Evaluating Wikipedia


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 to another student on their user talk 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 3

Course meetings
Monday, 1 February 2016   |   Wednesday, 3 February 2016
In class - Exploring the topic area
  • Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.



Handouts: Choosing an article

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 8 February 2016   |   Wednesday, 10 February 2016
In class - Using sources
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.



Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/sources|Sources and Citations]]


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.


Assignment - Choosing your article
  • Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 15 February 2016   |   Wednesday, 17 February 2016
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: [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]]


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 6

Course meetings
Monday, 22 February 2016   |   Wednesday, 24 February 2016
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.
Milestones

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 29 February 2016   |   Wednesday, 2 March 2016
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: Moving out of your Sandbox


Assignment - Moving articles to mainspace
  • Move your sandbox articles into main space.
    • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
    • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow the instructions in the "Moving out of your sandbox" handout.
  • Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 7 March 2016   |   Wednesday, 9 March 2016
In class - Building articles
  • Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
  • Share experiences and discuss problems.



Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


Assignment - Peer review students' articles


  

  • You will be assigned two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit.
    Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/peer-review|Peer Review]]

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 21 March 2016   |   Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Assignment - Complete first draft
  • Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 28 March 2016   |   Wednesday, 30 March 2016
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 11

Course meetings
Monday, 4 April 2016   |   Wednesday, 6 April 2016
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 12

Course meetings
Monday, 11 April 2016   |   Wednesday, 13 April 2016
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 13

Course meetings
Monday, 18 April 2016   |   Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Week 14

Course meetings
Monday, 25 April 2016   |   Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Milestones

Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.  Handout: Polishing your article