Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Worcester Polytechnic Institute/Plant Diversity (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Plant Diversity
- Institution
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Instructor
- Pam Weathers
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Plant Biology
- Course dates
- 2017-03-12 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-02 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 39
BB2030 Plant Diversity D17
Prof. Weathers
Welcome to Plant Diversity! In this course, you will experience the most important group of organisms on the planet. We will explore the many facets of the vast diversity of plant life. By the end of the course, I hope that you develop an appreciation of the essential role that plants play in human existence. Much of our future survival and well-being depends on our careful preservation of the diversity of plant species while we carefully harness their rich potential.
Plant Diversity has 3 major activities: lectures, writing projects and hands-on activities. Hands-on activities will be devoted to a more in-depth exploration of some of the topics we will be discussing in lecture. For example, we might be examining herbarium specimens, greenhouse plants, or live plants outdoors.
WRITING PROJECT
Edit a plant group, topic, or species Wikipedia page.
You will choose one of the plant topics listed on Articles tab of this course page and then guided by the Wiki Ed team, you will expand/copyedit a Wikipedia plant article and once completed, peer-reviewed and revised, you can make it go live. You will work in teams of 2. Each of you once successfully finished will earn your writing activity points. Points assigned as follows and all have strict deadlines:
- Set-up your individual Wikipedia account by 3/16/17 5 Do it by deadline and get 5 points. This course page will automatically track all the work your username does on Wikipedia from this point forward.
- Evaluate Wikipedia article writing by 3/22/17. 5 points. To get full credit you'll need a section in your sandbox space titled "article evaluation" that includes your notes. This course page will automatically track if you've done this.
- Select your team mate & article to edit by 3/24/17. 5 points. TEAMS of 2 must be verified to me (in class request)
- Edit & activate your selected topic page by 4/14/17. 35 points. Evaluated by internal, external peers and me.
- Insert optional image by 4/19/17. 10 points. Evaluated by internal, external peers and me.
- Write a 2 pg individual reflection piece by 4/21/17. 20 points. (hard copy only & graded by me – see below writing guide)
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 13 March 2017 | Tuesday, 14 March 2017 | Friday, 17 March 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
- Monday March 13th
- Assignment - Due Thursday March 16th
- set up Wikipedia accounts
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- 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.
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 20 March 2017 | Tuesday, 21 March 2017 | Friday, 24 March 2017
- Assignment - Select your team mate & article you will improve
- Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited. (Individual account creation was due on 3/16).
- Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page.
- With your group member, head to the Articles tab of this course page and review the list of "Available articles" - select one that you'd like to work on and have one of you Assign it to themselves. The second group member should head to the Students tab and manually assign themselves the article as well. Once you assign yourself a topic, the topic will be automatically removed from the list of available articles so that another group cannot also pick the same topic.
- If you want to work on an article not listed there, you can read the rules for this on the Home tab of this course page.
- Make sure you both have your article assigned to your name on the Students tab by the end of the day on 3/24.
- Select one group member whose Sandbox space you'll all share to draft your article. Each person should link to that shared Sandbox from their 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, one person should add the work to the Sandbox. 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.
- Assignment - Due Wednesday, March 22nd
- Evaluate Wikipedia
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Read the following Wikipedia articles:
- While you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- 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?
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Check the talk page. What kinds of discussion is going on in the Wikipedia community about how to represent this topic?
- How does the topic differ from the way we've discussed these issues in class?
- To get full credit for this assignment you should create a section in your sandbox space titled "Wikipedia evaluation" and leave your notes there. This will be automatically tracked on this course page.
- Optional: Choose at least 1 questions relevant to one of the articles you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Nswizzle64 (talk) 00:55, 14 April 2017 (UTC).
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Tuesday, 28 March 2017 | Friday, 31 March 2017
- In class - Monday, March 27th
- Exam 1
- Assignment - Due Friday, March 31st
- copyedit your article and start your draft.
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Tuesday, 4 April 2017 | Friday, 7 April 2017
- In class - Tuesday April 4th
- Exam 2
- Assignment - Due Thursday, April 6th
- Peer review another groups draft
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select one other groups draft that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the article topic that you want to review, and then assign it to yourself in the Review column.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on on the Talk page of the sandbox where your fellow student group is working. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 10 April 2017 | Tuesday, 11 April 2017 | Friday, 14 April 2017
- Assignment - Due Monday April 10th
- respond to peer review, finalize draft.
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft and think about the suggestions provided. Decide which ones to start implementing in your draft.
- Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
- Assignment - Due Friday, April 14th
- move your draft live!
- NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
- Re-read your article as it is "live" and make sure the changes you made still make sense. Don't just copy and paste into any one section without thinking about the article in its entirety.
- 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!
- Make sure when you copy you are in the "Edit" or "Edit source" view on both your draft and the main article space.
- 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.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Copyedit the article for spelling or grammatical mistakes.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 17 April 2017 | Tuesday, 18 April 2017 | Friday, 21 April 2017
- Assignment - Optional
- Illustrate your article
- Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11.
- When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked below.
- When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org or at commons.wikimedia.org.
- If you want to upload a new picture: Don't just upload an image to Wikipedia. Instead, upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook.
- In class - Friday April 21st
- Exam 3
- Assignment - Due Friday, April 21st
- reflection paper.
- 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?
- Group work: Take some time reflecting on your group here. What did each of you contribute? What challenges did you face?
- 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?
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 24 April 2017 | Tuesday, 25 April 2017 | Friday, 28 April 2017
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 1 May 2017 | Tuesday, 2 May 2017
- In class - Tuesday May 2nd
- Final Exam
TOTAL available: 80 points (only 60 needed to gain all points for this writing activity)
Selecting your topic
When selecting your topic you can choose from the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab
INSTRUCTIONS for writing - READ CAREFULLY OR YOU MIGHT LOSE POINTS!
TYPED, single spaced, 11-12 point font, 1 in margins, maximum 2 pages.
Due no later than 5 PM on the date shown or it will not be accepted.
NO TITLE or COVER PAGES PLEASE! HARD COPY ONLY – NO EMAIL ATTACHMENTS!
Your Hardcopy reflection piece must be submitted no later than 5 PM of its due date in one of the following ways:
Into my hands in or out of class.
Under my office door (GP 4022)
Into my mailbox in the BB office at GP.
Earlier submissions are accepted.
My evaluation of your Wiki submission will be based on the quality and value of the content that you provide. E.g. editing only 1 sentence would be evaluated at a much lower score than addition of several new, key points to an article. You must provide enough quality substance to earn all 40 points.
Timeline
Week 1
Welcome to our Wikipedia project timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for our course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
Our 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 complete the following individually.
(Worth 5 points. Trainings are automatically tracked on this course page. You MUST be logged in to get credit.)
Week 2
Group assignment begins.
To start, please review the following handouts:
Select another student in the class to complete this project with. TEAMS of 2 must be verified by Prof Weathers (in class request).
Tips for working in groups
(Worth 5 pts.)
Individual assignment.
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
(Worth 5 points. )
Week 3
EXAM 1 (on all prior to fungi)
Group assignment, due Friday March 31st.
Read through your article, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. Then, each member of your group should make an appropriate change.
As you read, evaluate what you can improve in the article. For this assignment, you're being asked to add at least 2-5 new sentences of content, backed up with 2 citations, to the article you've selected (adding more content will award you more points for the editing grade of this project). Read through the article with your teammate and identify a few areas that could be updated or improved with new content.
Begin drafting your improvements in your group sandbox space. Your draft needs to be completed by Friday at noon in order for other groups to have a chance to complete the peer review.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9, "Sources & Citations" training (linked below).
Don't forget you can reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions or want someone else to review your draft.
(Part of your 35 possible points for editing.)
Week 4
EXAM 2 (on fungi & algae)
Individual assignment, due Thursday, April 6th.
Your peer review needs to be completed by Thursday at noon in order for groups to have a chance to respond to their peer review notes over the weekend.
(Part of your 35 possible points for editing.)
Week 5
Group assignment, due Monday, April 10th.
Your group should have some feedback from other students and possibly your instructor and other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
Tip: While you are not graded on this yet, don't forget that you need to have a complete first draft in your sandbox available for grading by noon on April 14th.
(Part of your 35 possible points for editing.)
Group assignment, due Friday, April 14th.
Once you've made improvements to your article based on any feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
Editing an existing article:
After you've moved your draft live:
(Part of your 35 possible points for editing.)
Week 6
You'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to your article.
(Worth 10 points.)
EXAM 3 (on bryophytes and seedless vascular plants)
Individually, write a reflective essay (no more than 2 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:
(Worth 20 pts.)
Week 7
Week 8
FINAL EXAM – 80% on Gymnosperms and Angiosperms; 20% from all prior material.