User:Rosieredfield/Human Ecology

Course name

Human Ecology

Institution

University of British Columbia

Instructor

Rosie Redfield

Subject

Ecology

Course dates

2015-01-07 – 2015-04-10

Approximate number of student editors

20

This is an upper-level non-majors course in Human Ecology. We interpret this topic very broadly, including any aspect of humans' interactions with their natural and biotic environments. The students' Wikipedia work counts for 37% of the course grade; the rest comes from other projects and class activities.

For their Wikipedia work, students will first do a bit of training (complete a tutorial and leave a message on our Ambassador's talk page (3 points)). They will then work in pairs, first submitting a very short proposal describing the page they want to create or improve, on the broad topic of human ecology in the the Vancouver area (5 points). They will then have about 1 month to work in their sandbox and submit a draft page for peer review (10 points). Halfway through this period each team will meet with the course TA to discuss their progress and get advice on their plans. In the review process, each student will be assigned 3 pages to review; they will provide suggestions for improvement on the sandbox talk page (3 points for each review). The instructors will also review these drafts and assign marks out of 10 points; their feedback will also be provided on the talk page. Each team will then revise their page and post it in Wikipedia mainspace by the end of term (10 points).

Timeline

Week 1 (2015-01-05): Wikipedia essentials

Course meetings

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

In class

• Overview of the course
• Introduction to the Wikipedia project
• In class worksheet (create an account)
• Discuss project ideas

By class 2

• Join our Wikipedia class (add your name below)
• Complete online training for students
• Add information to your user page.
• Leave a 'Hello' message on our Ambassador L235's talk page.
• Send the TA your Wikipedia username

Week 2 (2015-01-12): Editing basics

Course meetings

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

In class

• 5 Pillars of Wikipedia
• Evaluating article quality
• 10 Rules for Editing Wikipedia
• Getting help

• Documentation: Editing Wikipedia (available on UBC Connect or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
• More documentation: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
• Still more documentation: Choosing an article

Assignment (due Ongoing)

• Read Vancouver-area Wikipedia pages
• Investigate possible project topics (areas that seem to be missing, or articles that seem in need of improvement).

Week 3 (2015-01-19): About creating pages

Course meetings

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

In class

• Class talk by our Campus Ambassador, Nicole Askin (user:nikkimaria): Wikispaces: Navigating the world of sandboxes, userspaces and page creation.
• Brief discussion of possible topics.

Assignment (due Ongoing)

• Read Vancouver-area Wikipedia pages
• Investigate possible project topics (areas that seem to be missing, or articles that seem in need of improvement).

Week 4 (2015-01-26): Partner assignments

Course meetings

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

In class

• Discuss topic ideas.
• At end of class, submit list of three preferred topic areas so partners can be assigned.

Students will be notified of partner assignments by email.

Assignment (due Midnight Feb. 3)

• Partners meet to select a specific project and compose the proposal (50-100 words)
• Take steps to confirm that this work is needed.

Week 5 (2015-02-02): Finalizing topics and starting research

Course meetings

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

In class

• If you haven't already, discuss topic ideas with your partner in the snack break.
• Continue the discussion after class, so you have a proposal to submit by midnight.

Assignment (due Midnight Feb. 3)

• As a Connect 'assignment', provide the title of your chosen page and a 50-100 word explanation of what improvements you and your partner will make or what new information your new page will provide. Indicate the steps you have taken to confirm that this work is needed.
• Both partners should submit the same proposal.

Before next class:

• Send the TA the link to the sandbox you are using for your article.
• Mark this sandbox and its talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. To add the banner, add this code in the top section of the talk page:

{{course assignment | course = User:Rosieredfield/Human Ecology | term = Spring 2015 }}

• Add a link to your selected article's sandbox to the table at the bottom of this course page.
• Identify relevant, reliable sources for your article and post links to them on the talk page of the article sandbox you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Week 6 (2015-02-09): Work on your article

Course meetings

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Milestones

• By now all student teams should have started editing articles or creating drafts on Wikipedia.
• 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 your proposed changes.
• Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Documentation: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.

NO CLASS WEEK OF 2015-02-16

Week 7 (2015-02-23): Teams work on their draft articles

Course meetings

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Assignment (due Ongoing)

• Teams work on their drafts in their sandboxes.
• Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Assignment (due By Feb. 27)

• Each team meets with the TA to report on their progress and discuss their plans.
• Email Ruth to set up an appointment.

Week 8 (2015-03-02): Teams continue working on their draft articles

Course meetings

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Assignment (due Ongoing)

• Teams work on their drafts in their sandboxes.
• Continue expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Documentation: "Illustrating Wikipedia" (pgs 4-7)

Assignment (due Midnight March 10)

• Draft article ready for peer review by classmates.

Week 9 (2015-03-09): Submitting your draft for peer review

Course meetings

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Assignment (due Midnight March 10)

• Authors have a presentable draft version of their article in their Wikipedia sandbox, ready for peer review.
• Make sure the TA has the link to this sandbox.

Students will be notified of their three peer-reviewing assignments by email. Teams may continue to work on their pages during the peer review period.

Assignment (due Midnight March 24)

• Read each assigned draft article and provide suggestions for improvement on its talk page.
• Reviews will be graded on how useful the suggestions are. ("Good page" is not a useful suggestion.)

Week 10 (2015-03-16): Work on peer reviews

Course meetings

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Teams may continue to work on their pages during the peer review period.

Assignment (due March 24)

• Read each assigned draft article and provide suggestions for improvement on its talk page.
• Reviews will be graded on how useful the suggestions are. ("Good page" does not count as a useful suggestion.)

Week 11 (2015-03-23): Complete peer reviews

Course meetings

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Teams may continue to work on their pages during the peer review period.

Assignment (due midnight March 24)

• All peer reviews should be completed
• provide useful comments on the talk page of each draft article.
• Remember to 'sign' your comments by typing Rosieredfield (talk) 03:05, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Week 12 (2015-03-30): Using your reviews to revise your article

Course meetings

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Teams may continue to work on their pages during the peer review period.

Assignment (due Ongoing)

• Continue revising your Wikipedia article
• Take into account all the feedback you have been given.
• You can find a handy reference guide here.
• Create links in your article to other relevant articles.
• Get ready to transfer your article to Wikipedia mainspace.

Week 13 (2015-04-06): Final due date April 10

Course meetings

Tuesday, 7 April 2015

In class

• No formal Wikipedia work in class
• Partners may discuss their work during the break.

Assignment (due midnight April 10)

• All Wikipedia work should be completed.
• Your final article should be in Wikipedia mainspace.
• Email Ruth the link to your final page

Grades will be posted on UBC Connect. Feedback will also be on BC Connect

Grading

  3%  

   Week 1 Wikipedia homework

  5%  

   Team proposal

  10%  

   Draft article

  9%  

   Three peer reviews

  10%  

   Final article