Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Trinity College/Ancient Roman History (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Ancient Roman History
- Institution
- Trinity College
- Instructor
- Lauren Caldwell
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- History
- Course dates
- 2017-01-23 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-09 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 30
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 March 2017 | Wednesday, 22 March 2017 | Friday, 24 March 2017
- 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 Content 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:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Create your account & take Wikipedia trainings
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- 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 2
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Wednesday, 29 March 2017 | Friday, 31 March 2017
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a series of Wikipedia articles, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Review the article about Ancient Rome AND two of the following:
- Ancient Roman architecture
- Campaign history of the Roman military
- Medical community of Ancient Rome
- Culture of Ancient Rome
- Clothing in Ancient Rome
- Languages of the Roman Empire
- Religion in Ancient Rome
- Ancient Rome and wine
- Roman art
- Gladiator
- Roman economy
- Roman metallurgy
- Roman roads
- Sino-Roman relations
- Slavery in Ancient Rome
- Roman law
- Choose an article, and consider some questions (but 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?
- How is encyclopedic writing different from persuasive writing?
- Check the "talk" page - what conversation is the Wikipedia community having behind the scenes about how to represent these topics? How is the article rated on Wikipedia's article quality scale?
- Take notes in your sandbox about what you've learned during this evaluation process.
- Choose at least 1 questions relevant to one of the articles you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Colonial1896 (talk) 01:10, 9 May 2017 (UTC).
- 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"?
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Review the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab. What one or two topics might you want to work to update for the remainder of this assignment?
- If you don't see an option there that you're interested in, search Wikipedia. Choose 1-2 new potential topics that you may want to tackle. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing.
- List your final choices in your sandbox.
- We will discuss and finalize our topics in class next week.
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Wednesday, 5 April 2017 | Friday, 7 April 2017
- 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?
- In class - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
Monday in class we will finalize our topics and visit the library!
- Once you have your topic finalized, on the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself (if you've chosen a topic from the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab you can just select to assign it to yourself from there)
- 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, too.
- Working in the library, begin compiling 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.
- 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 4
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 10 April 2017 | Wednesday, 12 April 2017 | Friday, 14 April 2017
- 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 Content 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, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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?
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 17 April 2017 | Wednesday, 19 April 2017 | Friday, 21 April 2017
- 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 - 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 Content Expert if you have any questions.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 24 April 2017 | Wednesday, 26 April 2017 | Friday, 28 April 2017
- 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!
Creating a new article?
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- 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.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 1 May 2017 | Wednesday, 3 May 2017 | Friday, 5 May 2017
- 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 Content Expert, Shalor Toncray (shalor
wikiedu.org) or Professor Caldwell at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Final reflective essay
As your final project for this assignment you will write a reflective essay. This is a short piece that is designed to get you to think about how this project has allowed you to create 'public knowledge' by linking your own interest in a particular aspect of Roman republican/imperial history with our course content.
Final versions of your reflective essay are due on our final exam day of Tuesday, May 9th.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 8 May 2017
- 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 Content Expert at any time!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.
- Assignment - Reflective Essay guidelines
Write a reflective essay (3 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?