Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Georgetown University/WRIT 015-12- Banned and Challenged Books (Fall 2019)
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- Course name
- WRIT 015-12- Banned and Challenged Books
- Institution
- Georgetown University
- Instructor
- Lisbeth Fuisz
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Writing and Culture
- Course dates
- 2019-08-29 00:00:00 UTC – 2019-12-28 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 16
This class examines censorship in U.S. public schools and libraries. Hundreds of challenges are made yearly to texts for containing sexually explicit material, violence, homosexuality, anti-family sentiment, offensive language and Satanic themes, amongst others. This class will explore what is at stake in these arguments over appropriate reading materials. Students will share their growing knowledge about book censorship with a wider audience through their contributions to Wikipedia.
Timeline
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 17 September 2019 | Thursday, 19 September 2019
- Assignment - 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:
- 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. (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.) Complete prior to class on 9/17/19.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 24 September 2019 | Thursday, 26 September 2019
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
Exercise - Please complete in class on 9/26. Worth 20 points towards Wikipedia Project, Phase One if completed on time.
- Assignment - Locating Articles
1. Identify 5 articles on Wikipedia that are related to the controversial children's literature discussed by Alyson Miller, Jamie Campbell Naidoo, or that are listed on American Library Associations' yearly compilation of most challenged books, found at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 . Prior to class on Thursday, compile and post the names of these five Wikipedia articles to the Canvas discussion called “List of Wikipedia articles related to controversial children's or young adult literature.” Give the Wikipedia article title plus a link. Class members will look at these lists for suggestions of articles to edit during class on Thursday. This is a Wikipedia Project, Phase One activity and it is worth 10 points.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 1 October 2019 | Thursday, 3 October 2019
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 8 October 2019 | Thursday, 10 October 2019
- In class - Discussion
- In class - Evaluating an article related to Tucson controversy
Use the following questions to evaluate the Wikipedia article you selected related to the Tucson Controversy/Rethinking Columbus. Put the evaluation in your Wikipedia sandbox (the page labeled User:your username/sandbox). Add a section to the sandbox with a title indicating which article you are evaluating. Finish the evaluation prior to class on 10/10/19. This is worth 30 points if completed on time as part of Wikipedia Project, Phase One.
Evaluating content
Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? Identify content gaps.
What else could be improved?
Evaluating tone
Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
Evaluating sources
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?
Checking the talk page
Now take a look at how others are talking about this article on the talk page.
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?
- Assignment - Adding Citations training - Complete before class on Thursday 10/10/19
Worth 20 points towards Wikipedia Project, Phase One if completed on time.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 15 October 2019 | Thursday, 17 October 2019
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 22 October 2019 | Thursday, 24 October 2019
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 29 October 2019 | Thursday, 31 October 2019
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 5 November 2019 | Thursday, 7 November 2019
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 12 November 2019 | Thursday, 14 November 2019
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 19 November 2019 | Thursday, 21 November 2019
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
Each training iss worth 20 points towards your Wikipedia Project, Phase One grade. Please complete prior to the start of class 11/21/19.
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 14
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 26 November 2019
- Assignment - Peer review two articles
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 15
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 3 December 2019 | Thursday, 5 December 2019
- 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
Exercise
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.
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Please complete the two trainings by the beginning of class on Thursday, Dec. 5. Each training is worth 20 points towards your Wikipedia Project, Phase One grade.
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 16
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 10 December 2019 | Thursday, 12 December 2019
- 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!
- 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!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.