Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Massachusetts, Amherst/UNIV 190L - Demystifying Library Research (Spring 2016)
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- Course name
- UNIV 190L - Demystifying Library Research
- Institution
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Instructor
- Thea Atwood
- Wikipedia Expert
- Adam (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Information Literacy
- Course dates
- 2016-01-20 00:00:00 UTC – 2016-05-13 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
This course is an exploration of the process of college-level research. In this course, students will learn efficient and effective methods for managing "information overload" and for finding, using, evaluating, organizing, and presenting information.
The way that students will learn these skills will largely be through evaluating and editing Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia is a major secondary source for advanced research, used by both college students and scholars alike. By placing Wikipedia at the center of this course, students will gain an intimate understanding of how Wikipedia works and where this key information resource fits in the research process.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 20 January 2016
- In class - Topic
- Wikipedia essentials
- Overview of the course.
- Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course.
- Wikipedia is a community: a brief overview of its rules, expectations, and etiquette.
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 27 January 2016
- Assignment - Topic
- Editing Basics (1 of 3)
- Basics of editing in Wikipedia.
- Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles.
- Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community.
- Assignment - Topic
- Editing Basics (2 of 3)
Please complete the Editing Basics Training this week.
- Assignment - Topic
- Editing Basics (3 of 3)
Part three of your Wikipedia training!
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 3 February 2016
- In class - Exploring your topic area & Scope
This week, you'll be exploring topic areas, and you'll be introduced to the basics of the library catalog & library databases.
We'll talk about scope and understanding the breadth and depth of your area of interest.
You'll have the opportunity to spend time in Wikipedia searching for a potential topic of interest. While you search, take note of:
- Areas with missing information
- Short articles
- Articles with few references
- The structure of Wikipedia articles
Your notes will help you figure out good candidates for the Wikipedia article you will edit!
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 10 February 2016
- In class - Planning your search
- Planning your search
- Developing strategies to find the information you need
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 17 February 2016
- In class - Gathering information
- Different sources of information (e.g., popular, scholarly, & trade publications)
- Reading through a source to determine its relevance to you!
- Citations
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 24 February 2016
- In class - Annotated bibliographies
- Evaluating sources
- Writing an annotated bibliography
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 2 March 2016
- In class - Managing information, plagiarism, and beginning your article
- How to manage information you've collected -- including how to avoid plagiarism and the importance of citing.
- Begin working on your article!
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 9 March 2016
- In class - Continuing research & presenting information
- Continue your research
- Means of presenting information
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 23 March 2016
- In class - Continue to improve article & Visual Literacy
- Improve your article
- Visual literacy
- DUE 3/29: Annotated Bibliography!
- In class - Training
- Contributing Images and Media Files
Please complete the Wikipedia training on contributing images and media to Wikipedia.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 30 March 2016
- In class - Move your article to mainspace & Media Literacy
- Move your article from your sandbox to Wikipedia mainspace.
- Discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
- In class - Training
- Sandboxes and Mainspace
Please complete the sandboxes and mainspace training.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 6 April 2016
- In class - Continue to improve articles & Peer review #1
- Continue revising your article
- Complete peer review training
- Review one of your classmate's articles
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 13 April 2016
- In class - Continue to improve articles & Peer Review #2
- Continue to improve articles.
- Peer review #2
Week 13
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 27 April 2016
- Final article
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
- Cumulative Reflection
- Reflect on your research process and how you've grown as a lifelong learner. See Assignment page in Moodle for more detailed information!
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 4 May 2016
- In class - Finals Week!
Please have everything in to me by 11:55PM, May 5, 2016.
This include your Wikipedia article edits and your cumulative reflection.
Final examinations this year:
April 28: Reading Day
April 29: Final examinations begin
May 1: Second reading day
May 2: Final examinations resume
May 5: Last day of final examinations, semester ends.