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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/SUNY Genesee Community College/World Civilizations 2 (Spring 2018)

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Course name
World Civilizations 2
Institution
SUNY Genesee Community College
Instructor
Judith Littlejohn
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
History
Course dates
2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-12 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
32


Examines the social, political, economic, environmental, religious and intellectual influences on the rise and fall of world civilizations from 1500 CE to the present. Presents history from a global perspective, with an emphasis on the beliefs and contributions shaping the whole of the human community. These are the specific learning outcomes to meet via WikiEdu: • 7. Trace the two world wars and the interwar period and evaluate the social, economic and political effects of these wars on developed, developing and underdeveloped nation states across the globe. • 8. Within the context of the Cold War, analyze essential aspects of post-World War II decolonization in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. • 12. Formulate, organize and defend an historical argument regarding a distinctive feature of a post-1550, non-western civilization in a written or oral presentation (University of Chicago style guide format) based upon library research involving a minimum of three scholarly references utilizing a minimum of one online full-text source (critical thinking and information management).

Student Assigned Reviewing
MLoson20 Decolonisation of Africa Women in World War II, Interwar period
Fangyuanw
Wanqinl
Frankiejean9420
Kperl1 Causes of World War II Causes of ww2
HISTORYLEARNER2018 Women in World War II Decolonisation of Africa, World War II by country
Ronald redband
ChristianDelano World War II by country Decolonisation of Africa, Women in World War II
Elizabethb95 Interwar period
Eedgerto
Dtrummer Decolonisation of Asia, Women in World War II
Bjutze
Mmlink123
Ashaffe2 Causes of World War I
Schmittcole Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I
Jwilli23 Aftermath of World War I
Superior1674
Doeydog16 Timeline of World War I
Mic0084 Timeline of World War II
Nicholekeanu Participants in World War I
Jeydog12 Third-Worldism
Bzingerella

Timeline

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 5 March 2018   |   Tuesday, 6 March 2018   |   Wednesday, 7 March 2018   |   Thursday, 8 March 2018   |   Friday, 9 March 2018
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

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 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:


Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
  • Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
  • 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.
  • When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 19 March 2018   |   Tuesday, 20 March 2018   |   Wednesday, 21 March 2018   |   Thursday, 22 March 2018   |   Friday, 23 March 2018
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

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

  • Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
  • Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
  • Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
    • 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?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
    • Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
    • Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
    • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
    • How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — ~~~~.


In class - Discussion
What's a content gap?

Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.

  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
  • What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 26 March 2018   |   Tuesday, 27 March 2018   |   Wednesday, 28 March 2018   |   Thursday, 29 March 2018
Assignment - Add to an article

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:

  • Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
  • The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.

Week 11

Course meetings
Monday, 2 April 2018   |   Tuesday, 3 April 2018   |   Wednesday, 4 April 2018   |   Thursday, 5 April 2018   |   Friday, 6 April 2018
In class - Discussion
Thinking about sources and plagiarism
  • Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
  • What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
  • What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
  • What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?


Assignment - Choose your topic / Find your sources

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

  • Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
  • Find an article from the list of "Available Articles" on the Articles tab on this course page. When you find the one you want to work on, click Select to assign it to yourself.
  • In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
    • Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page.
    • Compile 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.


Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

History

Week 12

Course meetings
Monday, 9 April 2018   |   Tuesday, 10 April 2018   |   Wednesday, 11 April 2018   |   Thursday, 12 April 2018   |   Friday, 13 April 2018
Assignment - Draft your article

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

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

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 13

Course meetings
Monday, 16 April 2018   |   Tuesday, 17 April 2018   |   Wednesday, 18 April 2018   |   Thursday, 19 April 2018   |   Friday, 20 April 2018
In class - Discussion
Thinking about Wikipedia
  • What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
  • What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
  • On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
  • If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?


Assignment - Expand your draft
  • Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
  • If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.


Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
  • First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  • Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review.
  • Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
  • As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
Milestones

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


Assignment - Respond to your peer review

You probably have some feedback from other students 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 Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 14

Course meetings
Monday, 23 April 2018   |   Tuesday, 24 April 2018   |   Wednesday, 25 April 2018   |   Thursday, 26 April 2018   |   Friday, 27 April 2018
Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review 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!
  • Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.

Creating a new article?


Assignment - Did You Know
  • Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see the DYK instructions handout) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education staff can provide support for this process.



Handout: "Did You Know" submissions

Week 15

Course meetings
Monday, 30 April 2018   |   Tuesday, 1 May 2018   |   Wednesday, 2 May 2018   |   Thursday, 3 May 2018   |   Friday, 4 May 2018
Assignment - Continue improving your article

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.
  • Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take Contributing Images and Media Files training before you upload an image.


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 16

Course meetings
Monday, 7 May 2018   |   Tuesday, 8 May 2018   |   Wednesday, 9 May 2018   |   Thursday, 10 May 2018   |   Friday, 11 May 2018
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!


Assignment - Original analytical paper
  • Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.
Milestones

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