Wikipedia

Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Washington/Ocean 410 and ESS 410 Marine Geology and Geophysics (Spring 2017)

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Course name
Ocean 410 and ESS 410 Marine Geology and Geophysics
Institution
University of Washington
Instructor
William Wilcock
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Marine geology and geophysics
Course dates
2017-03-27 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-06-16 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
15


Student Assigned Reviewing
Gerrad.caldwell Gorda Ridge
Ailobao Cobb hotspot
Artugade Mendocino Fracture Zone
Utahraptor ostrommaysi Gorda Plate
Daothao Explorer Plate
Surbhi ghadia Hydrate Ridge
Iborche Juan de Fuca Ridge
Mserdan Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents
Oceanfr Juan Fernández Plate
Cadotc Pacific-Farallon Ridge
Jpez315 Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone
Pszczolak Blanco Fracture Zone
Chenhy12 Farallon Trench
Yashmeghare Cobb–Eickelberg Seamount chain
TaoCo Galapagos Microplate

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Monday, 27 March 2017   |   Wednesday, 29 March 2017
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

Welcome to the Wikipedia project timeline for Ocean/ESS 410. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for this course and will be complementary to the UW Canvas site for Ocean/ESS 410.

All upcoming assignments on this page should be cross-referenced by an assignment on Canvas web site.  If you see an upcoming assignment that is not, please e-mail the instructor for clarification.  Please also note that this is the first time the instructor has used Wikipedia in a class, and so the content of this page will evolve during the class.  However, all assignments will be finalized at least a week in advance of the due date.

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: 

Assignment - Practicing the basics
  • 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, 3 April 2017   |   Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Assignment - Critique articles

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


  • While you read, and consider some questions (but don't feel limited to these and some may not be so relevant to these articles): 
    • 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?
    • Are there sub-topics that are overrepresented, underrepresented or missing?
    • Do the illustrations and images add to the article and are there illustrations/images that could be usefully added?
    • 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?
    • Check the "talk" page - what conversation is the Wikipedia community having behind the scenes about how to represent these topics? 
    • What is the article rated? 
    • How does the way these subjects are discussed on Wikipedia differ from how they have been discussed in your prior Earth Science classes? 
  • EXTRA CREDIT: Choose at least 2 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 — Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 22:02, 12 June 2017 (UTC). [reply]

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 10 April 2017   |   Wednesday, 12 April 2017
In class - Discussion
What's a content gap?

GRADED AS PART OF "In class activities"

Now that you have thought 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 bias in Wikipedia different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
  • Does bias even apply to uncontroversial science topics or is it more of an issue in other fields?  
Assignment - Add to an article

The goal of this exercise is to familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding or modifying a sentence or two of content and adding a citation.

On Wikipedia you will find numerous articles that are reasonably in depth but include insufficient citations to support the content.  These articles are often flagged with
"This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed."

Two flagged examples that are very relevant to our class are 

Two un-flagged examples articles with insufficient citations

On Wikipedia you will also find many articles that designated as stubs and flagged with
"This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.". 

A couple of examples of features in the Juan de Fuca Plate Region are:

There are also examples of articles that appear to be stubs but are not flagged as such

You can find lists of stubs

For this assignment

  • Complete the training on Sources and Citations
  • Add or modify 1-2 sentences in a course-related stub of your choice (i.e., a stub that is related to marine geology and geophysics) and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training. 
  • EXTRA CREDIT: Add a citation with text modifications as necessary to an article that is already quite long but needs additional citations.

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 17 April 2017   |   Wednesday, 19 April 2017
In class - Discussion
Thinking about sources and plagiarism

GRADED AS PART OF "In class activities"

It is important to consider the quality of  your sources when writing any article.

  • 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?
  • How might you determine if a web site is a reliable source of information?

Plagiarism is discussed quite well in the UW's statement on Student Academic Responsibility.  You should read this because in the instructors experience most instances of plagiarism are related to students not understanding the rules rather than setting out to cheat.  

  • What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
  • If you search on the web you will see it is common to classify plagiarism.  What are the different types of plagiarism and are some more serious that others? 
  • 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 and work hard to find a good set of sources for the article. 

In this class we are going to focus on expanding short or stub articles on geological features in the oceans or on geological/geophysical processes that impact the ocean basins.  In the Articles Tab I have focused on features in the vicinity of the Juan de Fuca plate but I could not find 15 so I added some others and you can find lots of additional choices under Tectonic stubs




  • Find an article from the list of "Available Articles" on the Articles tab on this course page

OR

  • If you want to select a different topic you can browse Wikipedia looking for article stubs or you can create a new article.  Wikipedia has a good list of submarine topographical features and you can also look for ocean related topics in the list of Tectonic stubs.  Once you have come up with the idea chat with or e-mail the instructor before proceeding.


  • Assign yourself your article. 
    • If you want to select from the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab, just click Select to assign it to yourself. 
    • If you have picked your own topic and you have got the approval of the instructor, head to the Students tab above and assign it to yourself.
      • Hint: If you pick a topic that does not already have a page, aka you want to create a new article, assign yourself the article title as it will stand once it's created.  


  • 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
Monday, 24 April 2017   |   Wednesday, 26 April 2017
Assignment - Draft your article

GRADED TOGETHER WITH NEXT WEEK'S "EXPAND YOUR DRAFT" ASSIGNMENT.  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 6

Course meetings
Monday, 1 May 2017   |   Wednesday, 3 May 2017
In class - Discussion
Thinking about Wikipedia

GRADED AS PART OF "In class activities"

  • 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

This is a big writing week, especially for students who went on class cruise and it is really important not to get behind because next week we are going to be conducting peer reviews.

  • 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.

EXTRA CREDIT (now or later): Take the Contributing Images and Media Files training and add one or more images to your article

Milestones

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 8 May 2017   |   Wednesday, 10 May 2017
In class - Discussion
Peer Review

GRADED AS PART OF "In class activities"
Which is more helpful to a writer - a critical or an uncritical review?
Which is more helpful to a writer - a constructive or an unconstructive review?
What are the essential elements of a thorough peer review?
What is copy editing?  Why is it important?

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 15 May 2017   |   Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Assignment - Peer review and copy edit


  • First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  • Talk to the instructor or the TA and we will assign you two of your classmates articles that are ready for peer review and copyedit.  
  • 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? 
Milestones

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

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 22 May 2017   |   Wednesday, 24 May 2017
In class - In-class presentation

You will have 5 minutes + 1 minute for transitions

  1. Introduce the topic of your Wikipedia page and summarize to the class the content of your page.  Remember you can use images that cannot be placed in Wikipedia article because of copyright issues
  2. Reflect on one or more of the following aspects of your Wikipedia experience
    • 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?
    • 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?
    • 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?
    • Discuss the Wikipedia editing process and what you learned about this?
Assignment - Respond to Peer Review and Move your article to Wikipedia Proper

GRADED TOGETHER WITH NEXT WEEK'S "FINAL ARTICLE" ASSIGNMENT.

  • 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. 
  • Work hard to address your peer reviewers' comments and use the Talk page to explain your reasons for not implementing suggestions you decide to ignore.

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.

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. 
  • Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. 
  • Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help! 

Week 10

Course meetings
Wednesday, 31 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.

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