User:Jean-Frédéric/Understanding Potatoes
- Course name
- Understanding Potatoes
- Institution
- Pataphysics City III
- Instructor
- John
- Subject
- Veggies
- Course dates
- 2014-10-28 – 2015-10-15
- Approximate number of student editors
- 9000
Timeline
Week 1 : Wikipedia essentials
- In class
- Overview of the course
- Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
- Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
Week 2 : Editing basics
- In class
- Basics of editing
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
- Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
- Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
- Assignment (due Week 3)
- 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.
- Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.
- To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to any Wikipedians helping your class (such as a Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.
- Milestones
- All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 3 : Exploring the topic area
- Assignment (due Week 4)
- Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
Week 4 : Using sources and choosing articles
- Assignment (due Week 5)
- Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.
- Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Ask your instructor for comment.
- For next week
- Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by Week 5.
Week 5 : Finalizing topics and starting research
- In class
- Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.
- Assignment (due Week 6)
- Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s 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.
Week 6 : Drafting starter articles
- In class
- Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
- Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
- Assignment (due Week 7)
- If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page.
- Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
- Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.
- Milestones
- All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
Week 7 : Moving articles to the main space
- Assignment (due Week 8)
- Move sandbox articles into main space.
- Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 8 : Building articles
- Workshop in class or outside of class
- Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
- Share experiences and discuss problems.
- Handouts: "Uploading images" and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)
- Assignment (due Week 9)
- Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
- Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Week 9 : Getting and giving feedback
- In class
- As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.
- Assignment (due Week 10)
- Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
- Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
- Milestones
- All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.
Week 10 : Responding to feedback
- In class
- Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
- Assignment (due Week 11)
- Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback.
Week 11 : Finishing Touches
- Assignment (due Week 12)
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
- Put together a Wikipedia portfolio.
Week 12 : Due date
- Milestones
- Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.
Grading
5%
Completion of Wikipedia training
15%
Early Wikipedia exercises
10%
Quality of bibliography and outline
10%
Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
50%
Quality of your main Wikipedia contributions
10%
Supplementary assignments