Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Missouri SandT/History of Science in Latin America (Fall 2017)
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- Course name
- History of Science in Latin America
- Institution
- Missouri SandT
- Instructor
- Kathleen Sheppard
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- History of Science
- Course dates
- 2017-08-21 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-15 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the history of science in what we now call Latin America. Throughout the semester, we will focus on the search for knowledge about the natural world, from the ancient world to today in what is now called Mexico, Central and South America. Because it covers such a long period of time and a large geographical area with diverse cultures, languages, and knowledge systems, it is necessarily a survey of the important ideas, people, institutions and developments throughout time.
We will move beyond preconceptions about “science”—that is, European science—by looking at questions raised by those who sought to explain the structure of the heavens, the earth, and the body, as well as those who developed technologies to work within and try to control those structures. We will seek to understand that science is not a European construct, but that cultures all over the world have systems of knowledge about the natural world and each is valid in important ways. Further, we will analyze the close relationship between science and culture, discussing issues such as ethnicity, socio-economic status, and gender which pervade human society, and therefore science. This course is set up chronologically as well as thematically so that we can more fully understand the intricacies within these complex relationships. The course emphasizes written and verbal communication; you can expect to read and write a considerable amount.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 11 September 2017 | Wednesday, 13 September 2017 | Friday, 15 September 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
As we talked about in class, instead of doing a more traditional paper that only I read, you are going to be learning to analyze Wikipedia and then to create your own articles for Wikipedia. The milestones and assignments listed below are spread out to make it so that nothing will be overwhelming. Organizing the assignments in this way also gives you more time to become comfortable with Wikipedia prior to adding a new article yourself.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.
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 review the following handouts:
- 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. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
- 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.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 18 September 2017 | Wednesday, 20 September 2017 | Friday, 22 September 2017
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
- Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- 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?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- 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?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Check out the Talk page of the article. 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?
- Before leaving class: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — K8shep (talk) 19:30, 27 December 2017 (UTC).
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
- What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
- Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
- What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 25 September 2017 | Wednesday, 27 September 2017 | Friday, 29 September 2017
- Assignment - Add to an article
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 2 October 2017 | Wednesday, 4 October 2017 | Friday, 6 October 2017
- Assignment - Choose your topic / Find your sources
It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself.
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Find an article from the list of "Available Articles" on the Articles tab on this course page. When you find the one you want to work on, click Select to assign it to yourself.
- Alternatively, if you have a topic you would like to do that isn't on the "Available Articles" list, send me an email with your chosen new article topic. Starting a new article can be time-consuming and when we have limited time in this course it may not be the best option for you.
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page.
- Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
- Assignment - Best practices for working in groups
- Make sure everyone in the group is assigned to the same Wikipedia article on the Students tab of this course page.
- 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 own 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.
- Don't create a group account for your project. Group accounts are prohibited.
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 9 October 2017 | Wednesday, 11 October 2017 | Friday, 13 October 2017
- Assignment - Draft your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
No one in our class is creating a new article, but the steps below are useful in starting your outlining for improving your existing article
- Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
- Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 16 October 2017 | Wednesday, 18 October 2017 | Friday, 20 October 2017
- Milestones
- Outside of class, keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, outside of class, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- Select one of your classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the article that you want to review, and then assign it to yourself in the Review column.
- Because we are doing this slightly differently than Wikipedia is explaining, we will be peer reviewing within the sandbox, and not in the article itself.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts in their sandboxes. Leave suggestions in the sandbox that your fellow students are working on. 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?
- As you save, make sure you sign with your K8shep (talk) 19:30, 27 December 2017 (UTC) and comment on what you edited.
NB: Because we are doing this slightly differently than Wikipedia is explaining, we will be peer reviewing within the sandbox, and not in the article itself. In understanding process of peer review, you may realize that your work in your sandbox isn't particularly well-organized enough to let your classmates see what you are actually doing. I suggest, strongly [read: do this next step before coming to class], that you organize your original work in the sandbox you're working in, if you have not done so already. That way, the parts you may have copied in can be discerned from the parts that you've added.
If you need to make this clear, put a headline for ==Original article title Edits== and then put your draft and sources you've found under that heading. This should be very much in the shape of a "rough draft" type of paragraph or additions, NOT notes.
You will be peer editing on your own, but you must make sure that you assign an article to yourself so that others know what you're going to be working on, whose sandbox you'll be in, and you can make sure to coordinate with the other reviewer not to save and erase their stuff.
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about Wikipedia
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
- On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
- If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 October 2017 | Wednesday, 25 October 2017 | Friday, 27 October 2017
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
- Outside of class, read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
- We will be working on your articles in class, but make sure you have read through all the materials, and your peer reviews, by then.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 30 October 2017 | Wednesday, 1 November 2017 | Friday, 3 November 2017
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
Editing an existing article?
- NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
- 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!
- Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.
Creating a new article?
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 6 November 2017 | Wednesday, 8 November 2017 | Friday, 10 November 2017
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Outside of class, do additional research and bring those sources to your Friday meeting with your partner. You will do write with your partner to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.
- 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.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 13 November 2017 | Wednesday, 15 November 2017 | Friday, 17 November 2017
- 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 Content Expert at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Prepare for in-class presentation
Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
- In class, you will be preparing your reflective essay, as well as your in-class presentation that will be due in the last week of class. Your essay will be due the day you give your presentation. You will be signing up for days and times to do your presentation this week.
- I expect an 8-10 minute presentation where you introduce your topic to the class, explain your process, and answer some of the questions below. You will also be expected to answer your classmates' and my questions about your topic. More details about this will be given in class.
Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions. It should be organized in the following way:
- Introduction: Your introduction should include your chosen topic, why you chose it, and what you did with the topic (did you write a new article or add to an existing one)?
- Initial thoughts on the project: What did you think about this project when you first found out about it? You may be frank.
- The Process:
- 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?
- Sourcing: How did you find your sources? Which ones did you choose? Why? How did you use them.
- Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers' articles? 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?
- 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?
- Conclusions:
- 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?
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 November 2017 | Wednesday, 29 November 2017 | Friday, 1 December 2017
- 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 Content Expert at any time!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions. It should be organized in the following way:
- Introduction: Your introduction should include your chosen topic, why you chose it, and what you did with the topic (did you write a new article or add to an existing one)?
- Initial thoughts on the project: What did you think about this project when you first found out about it? You may be frank.
- The Process:
- 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?
- Sourcing: How did you find your sources? Which ones did you choose? Why? How did you use them.
- Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers' articles? 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?
- 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?
- Conclusions:
- 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?
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 4 December 2017 | Wednesday, 6 December 2017 | Friday, 8 December 2017
- Assignment - In-class presentation
Present about your Wikipedia editing experience.
You will sign up for these presentations on Canvas.
You may organize the presentation in the same way that you have organized your reflection paper, but you must give substantial detail in your 10-minute presentation about your edits or new article topic. It should include at least the following:
- Introduction: Your introduction should include your chosen topic, why you chose it, and what you did with the topic (did you write a new article or add to an existing one)?
- The Process
- 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?
- Conclusions:
- 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?
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.