Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Virginia Commonwealth University/The Rise of Social Media (Fall, 2021)

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Course name
The Rise of Social Media
Institution
Virginia Commonwealth University
Instructor
Gardner Campbell
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Cultural Studies, American Studies, Technology Studies
Course dates
2021-08-24 00:00:00 UTC – 2021-12-18 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
27


ENGL 391 (crosslisted as AMST 391 and NEXT 383): The Rise of Social Media (W. Gardner Campbell) In the first five years of the 21st century, rapid developments in Web technologies and broadband access fundamentally transformed the way many people interacted with the Internet. These changes, in turn, shaped and responded to historical/cultural crises (for example, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the so-called “Twitter Revolution” in Iran). This course studies those technological developments in their cultural context by focusing on the most influential and enduring early platforms for what has come to be called “social media”: blogging, discussion forums, Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and the invention that empowered and accelerated their growth and influence, Google. Readings will include selections from works such as The New Media Reader (Wardrop-Fruin and Montfort, eds.), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (Zuboff), The Information (Gleick), Here Comes Everybody (Shirky), The Young and the Digital (Watkins), Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out (Ito et al.), and Remix (Lessig). Assignments will include tests, short papers (including research and reflective essays), and vigorous participation in various online modes of reading and writing, including editorial work in Wikipedia.

Course Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmtE5ORQgZc

Student Assigned Reviewing
Meganespires Richmond SPCA Goose
Sploosh95 Spiritfarer Skateparks in Virginia
Finesslyn Colonial Heights, Virginia Climate change denial
ClassyIam Meal replacement Abortion in the United States by state
Charisajm Ethical eating Haymarket, Virginia
Alsurafel Personality Psychology Forest of Argonne
Tesseractionable Anti-Western sentiment Meal replacement
Webbma2 Supreme Court of the United States
Svanla Shih Tzu Richmond SPCA
AlrightAliyah The Boyz (South Korean band) Midlothian, Virginia
Slatercp Social media in the fashion industry Anti-Western sentiment
Molleighroy Goose Immigrant health care in the United States
Shrkym Midlothian, Virginia Spiritfarer
E.Michelle.70 Abortion in the United States by state Colonial Heights, Virginia
GIlbertja Forest of Argonne Down the Rabbit Hole (memoir)
Jacksondk3 The Other Francisco Shih Tzu
Thechipskylark3 Haymarket, Virginia The Other Francisco
VonTato23 Climate change denial The Boyz (South Korean band)
MagicBrownMan Rifleman's Creed Social media in the fashion industry
Akmohsenin Gothic fashion Hashtag activism
Gabelayug Immigrant health care in the United States Ethical eating
Zpana44 Down the Rabbit Hole (memoir) Rifleman's Creed
Willysandals Skateparks in Virginia Personality Psychology
Ashleykacou11 Hashtag activism Electric chair
Johnwinston96 Electric chair Gothic fashion

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 25 August 2021
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:

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 30 August 2021   |   Wednesday, 1 September 2021
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
Monday, 6 September 2021   |   Wednesday, 8 September 2021
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 13 September 2021   |   Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choosing An Article

9/11 due date is for completion of this module.

Due date for letting me know your article choice is 9/26 (see below).

In class - Discussion

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 20 September 2021   |   Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Assignment - Add to an article

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 27 September 2021   |   Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Milestones

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 4 October 2021   |   Wednesday, 6 October 2021
Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

In class - Discussion

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 11 October 2021   |   Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Assignment - First Peer Review

Guiding framework

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 18 October 2021   |   Wednesday, 20 October 2021
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.
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 10

Course meetings
Monday, 25 October 2021   |   Wednesday, 27 October 2021
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 11

Course meetings
Monday, 1 November 2021   |   Wednesday, 3 November 2021
Continue to Polish Your Work

Week 12

Course meetings
Monday, 8 November 2021   |   Wednesday, 10 November 2021
Assignment - Second Peer Review

Week 13

Course meetings
Monday, 15 November 2021   |   Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Assignment - Respond to Second Peer Review
Milestones

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

Week 14

Course meetings
Monday, 29 November 2021   |   Wednesday, 1 December 2021
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 15

Course meetings
Monday, 6 December 2021   |   Wednesday, 8 December 2021
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
Milestones

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