Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/John Abbott College/Science and Pseudoscience (Fall)

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Course name
Science and Pseudoscience
Institution
John Abbott College
Instructor
Alberto Sanchez
Subject
Humanities
Course dates
2022-08-22 00:00:00 UTC – 2022-12-10 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
40


What is science? What is the difference between science and other forms of knowledge? We will explore various answers to these and related questions over the course of the semester by taking a historical perspective. How is science different today than 100 years ago? How is it different today than 2000 years ago? We will be comparing conceptions of science across time and cultures.

Of particular interest, we will see how certain views about the universe and life breakdown and give rise to other views. Why is this important? Because we are in the midst of one of those breakdowns and the emergence of a new view. Your and my views of the universe and life, I will argue, do not quite fit with our latest and best scientific theories. Is that a good or bad thing? Should we change them?

Timeline

Week 2

Course meetings
Wednesday, 31 August 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:

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 3

Course meetings
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
In class - Discussion

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 12 September 2022   |   Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Assignment - Choose your article
In class - Discussion

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 19 September 2022   |   Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Assignment - Make a small edit

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 26 September 2022   |   Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7

Course meetings
Wednesday, 5 October 2022   |   Tuesday, 4 October 2022
Assignment - Peer review two articles

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion
Milestones

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

Week 8

Course meetings
Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Assignment - Respond to your peer review

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:

  • Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
  • Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 17 October 2022   |   Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 24 October 2022   |   Wednesday, 26 October 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 11

Course meetings
Monday, 31 October 2022   |   Wednesday, 2 November 2022
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 Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 12

Course meetings
Monday, 7 November 2022   |   Wednesday, 9 November 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!
Assignment - Reflective essay

Week 13

Course meetings
Monday, 14 November 2022   |   Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.