Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Notre Dame de Namur University/Religious Communes in the United States (Fall 2017)
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- Course name
- Religious Communes in the United States
- Institution
- Notre Dame de Namur University
- Instructor
- Marianne Delaporte
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- New Religious Movements and communes
- Course dates
- 2017-08-28 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-16 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
In this course, we will explore historical and contemporary utopian ideals and the communities that have attempted to realize them in the United States. Our examination of them will be primarily sociological and philosophical. We will discuss the factors that have led to the success or failure of various communities as well as the merits of these communities’ ideals and methods. We will also use our own imaginative thinking about the future: what ideals ought we to be striving for, and how can we best create a world that embodies them?
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 29 August 2017 | Thursday, 31 August 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. THIS IS DUE THE FIRST THURSDAY OF CLASS.
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 - Get started on Wikipedia
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
- 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
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- Tuesday, 5 September 2017 | Thursday, 7 September 2017
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 12 September 2017 | Thursday, 14 September 2017
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 19 September 2017 | Thursday, 21 September 2017
- In class - Group work begins
By this date groups will have been chosen.
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Assignment - Best practices for working in groups
- Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page.
- Members will use the Sandbox space of the Group Facilitator which you will all share to draft your article. Each person should link to that shared Sandbox from their own Sandbox page. A sandbox is like any other page on Wikipedia, and anyone can edit it.
- Wikipedia doesn't allow multiple people to edit from different devices at the same time. If you're working together in person, take turns adding the work to the Sandbox because your entries will affect your individual grades. If you are all working independently, make small edits and save often to avoid "editing conflicts" with classmates. Make sure that you're logged in under your own Wikipedia account while editing in your classmate's sandbox to ensure your edits are recorded.
- Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited.
For this assignment I merely need you to log into the Sandbox of your Group Facilitator and write one paragraph about how you have experienced group work, your fears about group work and any tips you have for making it work.
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate the Wikipedia article related to your religious commune and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
Answer these questions in the Facilitator Sandbox.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
- As a group, read your selected article. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- 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?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
- How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
- How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
- Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Shalor (Wiki Ed) (talk) 15:46, 15 December 2017 (UTC).
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 26 September 2017 | Thursday, 28 September 2017
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions. Answer in your reflection for today.
- 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"?
- Use one of the chapters from our class readings as a guide. What does the chapter include concerning the commune? What are the subtopics that you think should be included?
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 3 October 2017 | Thursday, 5 October 2017
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 10 October 2017 | Thursday, 12 October 2017
- Assignment - As a group, find your sources
In your group sandbox, (the one that belongs to your facilitator) write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article. Each student must post what they will be adding to the entry in particular.
- Think back to when you did an article critique (Week Four). 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 your group sandbox and to the Talk Page of the article. Each student must post at least Three relevant resources. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 17 October 2017 | Thursday, 19 October 2017
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 24 October 2017 | Thursday, 26 October 2017
- 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
- 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.
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 31 October 2017 | Thursday, 2 November 2017
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select two religious communes from the other groups to peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review.
- 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. You must leave at least two suggestions on each article. You must acknowledge all feedback.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
- 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.
- You must change your draft according to suggestions or respond as to why you are not taking the suggestions.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
- 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.
- Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take the 'Contributing Images and Media Files' training before you upload an image.
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 7 November 2017 | Thursday, 9 November 2017
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 14 November 2017 | Thursday, 16 November 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!
- Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.
- If you would like a Wikipedia editor to review your work before putting it live please be sure to push the "Get Help" button on your sandbox and ask for it ahead time. It may take up to a week for the editor to respond.
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 - 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 at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions. This is due in "Reflection on Wikipedia" on the Moodle.
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: 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?
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 21 November 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.