Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Raritan Valley Community College/General Biology I Honors (Fall 2022)
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- Course name
- General Biology I Honors
- Institution
- Raritan Valley Community College
- Instructor
- Melanie Lenahan
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Science Communication
- Course dates
- 2022-08-31 00:00:00 UTC – 2022-12-16 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
Students will choose an article that aligns with the learning objectives of the course (biochemistry, cells, metabolism, cellular division, genetics). Students will evaluate the article and create and or edit an article.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 September 2022 | Thursday, 8 September 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:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- 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
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- Tuesday, 13 September 2022 | Thursday, 15 September 2022
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
- In class - Discussion
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 20 September 2022 | Thursday, 22 September 2022
- Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6
- In class - Discussion
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 4 October 2022 | Thursday, 6 October 2022
- Assignment - Make a small edit
- Assignment - Finalize your topic and find sources
It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself.
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- When you have chosen an article follow the instructions 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.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 11 October 2022 | Thursday, 13 October 2022
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
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
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 25 October 2022 | Thursday, 27 October 2022
- Assignment - Peer review two articles
- Assignment - Instructions for Peer Review
- 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 a 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.
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 1 November 2022
- 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 8
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 8 November 2022 | Thursday, 10 November 2022
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 15 November 2022 | Thursday, 17 November 2022
- Assignment - Continue improving 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 10
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 22 November 2022
- In class - 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.
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 29 November 2022 | Thursday, 1 December 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!
- In class - Reflective Essay
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?
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 December 2022 | Thursday, 8 December 2022
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.