User:JenniferMGA/NMAC 5108 Journal

March 28th, 2019: Evaluating the Entry for Norris Church Mailer

WikiEdu advises that we evaluate what we read on Wikipedia by its (1) content, (2) tone, and (3) sources. I think the article/entry for Norris Church Mailer was informative in its content, neutral in its tone, and credible in its sources. I do think it's only fair that I add a disclaimer that this is the first Wikipedia entry I've taken the time to "evaluate" which makes me an absolute novice. The information about Norris Mailer seemed relevant and up to date. There was information from her early childhood through her death and the article didn't dwell on anything I found to be irrelevant to her life. When I clicked on the links for sources, they worked which is good sign! The sources are reliable (i.e. New York Times, Washington Post). I even looked at the Talk page but I didn't see any discussions so I might need to look around some more to figure out where the community posts their suggestions for edits on Norris Mailer's main page.

March 28th Journal Responses/Discussions

@JenniferMGA: How's it going, Jennifer? The one thing that I thought odd about the entry is that it had a lot of, at least for me, content gaps, which is I guess why we are supposed to be editing it, right? I didn't quite understand the information on life with Norman Mailer, and it seemed to me that this is a perfect example of writer bias. Whoever drafted it seemed to have a bias in favor of Mailer himself, so everything in the entry seemed colored by her relationship to Mailer. It didn't in the end seem to be about her and her relevance as a writer, for example. Now if I can just get caught up on my revision of the bio. Behind and behinder this week. JVbird (talk) 10:53, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

@JVbird: I started a new job that's demanding 50-60 hours of work a week so I've fallen behind on school! I hope you get caught up with revising the bio, I believe in you Josef! I'm glad you pointed out the content gaps of the article, because it helps give me a basis of what I should look for. I also see what you mean when you say the article seems to focus more on Norman Mailer than on Norris, almost as if her marrying him was more important than her many other accomplishments. If I was a student looking to learn more about Norris Mailer, I think this article would've taught me more about her husband than about her. I think I'll try my best to think like a professional Wikipedian but that'll take ALOT of trial and error (many errors actually). Thank you again for helping to look at things more critically, I'll keep practicing! JenniferMGA (talk) 00:01, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

@JenniferMGA: Congratulations on the new job, Jennifer. I hope that it's a rewarding position and that you're getting to use your writing skills. I truly enjoy reading your posts, always. You've got a gift. The 50-60 hours is crazy, though. I hope that doesn't go on and that things calm down! The Norris Church Mailer article is still giving me trouble. I am not sure how to fix the citations or how to address that first section on her work as a novelist. I hope we can all put our minds together and figure it out! JVbird (talk) 11:46, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

March 24th, 2019: Wikipedia Quick Links

To help combat the overwhelming feeling I get from using Wikipedia, I decided to start by creating this journal with links to all the important pages I'll need for this course. Doing this also helps me practice linking other pages, sites, etc.

@JenniferMGA: I had a similar idea, except I was pasting my list to a word document. I like this idea better as I don't have to switch between Wiki and Word. I will be visiting your journal page quite a bit from this point forward!Dillbug (talk) 16:26, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

Course Related Quick Links

• NMAC 5108 Course Page for the syllabus, schedule, and course-related information.

• Professor Lucas's Talk Page

• WikiEdu Dashboard

• Project Mailer: An American Dream Discussion Page

Links to Other Student Journals

• Roger C. Byrd

• Sandy Callaway

• Dana McGonagil

• Mariam Qureshi

• Sherita Sims-Jones

• Matthew Smith

• Josef Vice

• Rian Williams

Tips for Discussions and Edits

1. Always sign your posts on any talk pages.

2. Use the ":" symbol to indent your replies.

3. Link another Wikipedia page by using "double brackets."

3a. Use a "pipe symbol" (Shift+Backslash) after the Wikipage Link in the brackets to type an alternative name.

4. Link an external page by using a "single bracket."

4a. Use a "space" after the link in the bracket to type an alternative name.

5. Cite with a footnote using "RefTags."

5a. Use the "RefToolbar" in WikiEdits for citation formats.

Helpful Links for Reference

Wikipedia:Tutorial for guidance with Editing, Formatting, Linking, and Citing on Wikipedia.

March 24th Journal Responses/Discussion

@Jennifermga: What a fabulous idea! I though because I had added all peer journals to my watchlist that I would get messages when things were posted but that's not what's happening. At least this way you have every link you need to jump to from your journal...thought there are several more to add! Navigating Wiki has definitely been challenging...I can only do it with any kind of success from my laptop so I can book mark all the pages I need to look at at one time and also have them all open to go back and forth to at one time. Smart lady!

(Dmcgonagill (talk) 15:54, 27 March 2019 (UTC))

Thank you! I did the watchlist but it confused me still and then I tried to bookmark everything but then that just got all clustered so my last ditch attempt was to add it to my Journal. I think it works out great! That way I just need to bookmark this one page and from there I can go to where I need to! Also, I never properly thanked you for your link to the Emoticons page so thank you, I love it!

JenniferMGA (talk) 00:47, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

March 9th, 2019: Learning to Use Wikipedia

It feels odd to be writing a journal on a Wikipedia page. Throughout all of my high school and undergraduate days, my teachers have always told me to avoid Wikipedia because it was better to be safe than sorry about the information that's found on here. I knew that people collectively edited and created all the Wikipedia pages but I didn't realize that there were "talk pages" and ways to track edits made by others. I guess I just assumed that there wasn't any sort of "check and balance" system. It's a good thing that there's an introductory training modules when I signed up. I'm already overwhelmed by the prospect of using Wikipedia but comforted that there's help and guidance available when I need it.

My goal for the next couple days is to learn how to link certain information from other Wiki pages to what I'm writing and continue learning how to use and navigate Wikipedia before I find my article in the coming weeks.

March 9th Journal Responses/Discussion

Small steps: that's a good approach. Let me know if I can help in any way. I think you're off to a great start. —Grlucas (talk) 02:20, 10 March 2019 (UTC)

How great to see you again, Jennifer, and in yet another writing environment to boot. I loved the work you and Mariam did in our last class and I really look forward to reading more of your writing. Looks like we're off and running next week with more writing but I've vowed to myself that I would not panic this term or let my doubts get the best of me! See you in Wiki! —JVbird JVbird (talk) 12:19, 10 March 2019 (UTC)

@JVbird: Happy to see you again too Josef! You won't believe how stunned Mariam and I were when we saw your group's video presentation! It completely blew our minds. We could see how much work and effort went into your project and I love seeing how much passion and effort the class put into it. I have complete faith in your abilities and look forward to another mini semester with you! JenniferMGA (talk) 23:01, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

@JenniferMGA: Hi. Nice to see another friend from last class. Looking forward to working together in learning this class. Please don't hesitate to email me if you want to collaborate or have professional discourse at dmcgonagill@mga.edu or dana.mcgonagill@gmail.com. Talk to you soon!(Dmcgonagill (talk) 20:10, 11 March 2019 (UTC))

@Dmcgonagill: Horray for another familiar user! I'm looking forward to this semester together too. I'm better at checking my Google Email at jenn.huynh2016@gmail.com but the MGA email works too at jennifer.huynh@mga.edu. Also, how did you insert that emoji?? I love it! JenniferMGA (talk) 23:01, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

@JenniferMGA: Here you go on emoticons!(Dmcgonagill (talk) 00:22, 12 March 2019 (UTC))

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to the class and glad to see we have another one together. I agree, it feels very odd writing in a journal on here. I am trying to get used to it myself and am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. It seems like it will be fun and exciting once we really get into the articles.Ssimsjones (talk) 09:42, 12 March 2019 (UTC)