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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Southern Maine Community College/BIOM 255 Ecology (Spring 2016)

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Course name
BIOM 255 Ecology
Institution
Southern Maine Community College
Instructor
Megan McCuller
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Ecology
Course dates
2016-01-19 – 2016-05-14
Approximate number of student editors
14


This one-semester course covers the basic principles of general ecology: the physical environment, populations, communities, ecosystems, and global issues. Fundamentals of the scientific method, the impact of limiting factors, biogeochemical cycles, and the significance of human activity will also be stressed. Sampling techniques are described and practiced during the laboratory. Where appropriate, marine examples are used to demonstrate these concepts.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Camullen Cleaner fish
Vanperry Sustainable development
LraFls Effluent
Mbarshaw Marine debris
Coryswilley Endemism
Dplummermaddocks Habitat fragmentation
Whalbur59 Unseen species problem
Sunspot23 Insect ecology
Emilymoker Salt marsh
Garlandbrook Ecosystem engineer
Honeybadgerdontcare Ocean acidification
Kyle Derby
SCiguy16
Facundityman

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 19 January 2016   |   Thursday, 21 January 2016

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 January 2016   |   Thursday, 28 January 2016
In class - Wikipedia essentials
  •   Overview of the course
  •   Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  •   Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.

Handout: Editing Wikipedia


In class - Editing basics
  • Basics of editing
  • Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
  • Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
  • Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments



Handouts: Using Talk Pages, Evaluating Wikipedia


In class - Exploring the topic area
  • Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.



Handouts: Choosing an article

Milestones

All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Assignment - Practicing the basics
  • Create an account and join this course page.
  • Complete the introductory training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
  • Create a User page.
  • To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to another student on their user talk page.
  • Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.


Assignment - Choosing your article
  • Your instructor has created a list of potential topics for your main project. Choose the one you will work on.
  • Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.


Assignment - Add to an article
  • Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 2 February 2016   |   Thursday, 4 February 2016
In class - Using sources
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.



Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/sources|Sources and Citations]]


In class - Discuss the article topics
  • Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]]

Week 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 9 February 2016   |   Thursday, 11 February 2016
Assignment - Drafting starter articles
  • If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
  • Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues,
  • Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 February 2016   |   Thursday, 18 February 2016
In class - Wikipedia culture and etiquette
  • Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
  • Q&A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.


In class - Moving articles to mainspace
  • We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
  • A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
    • Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
    • Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.



Handout: Moving out of your Sandbox

Milestones

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.


Assignment - Moving articles to mainspace
  • Move your sandbox articles into main space.
    • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
    • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow the instructions in the "Moving out of your sandbox" handout.
  • Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 23 February 2016   |   Thursday, 25 February 2016
In class - Building articles
  • Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
  • Share experiences and discuss problems.



Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia

Week 7

Course meetings
Tuesday, 1 March 2016   |   Thursday, 3 March 2016
Assignment - Choose articles to peer review
  • Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the articles you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 8 March 2016   |   Thursday, 10 March 2016
Assignment - Complete first draft
  • Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 15 March 2016   |   Thursday, 17 March 2016
In class - Group suggestions
  • As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.



Supplementary training: [[../../../training/students/peer-review|Peer Review]]


Assignment - Peer review and copyedit
  • Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
  • Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 29 March 2016   |   Thursday, 31 March 2016
In class - Media literacy discussion
  • Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
Milestones

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


Assignment - Address peer review suggestions
  • Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 5 April 2016   |   Thursday, 7 April 2016

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 12 April 2016   |   Thursday, 14 April 2016
In class - Discuss further article improvements
  • Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.


Assignment - Continue improving articles
  • Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
  • Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 19 April 2016   |   Thursday, 21 April 2016
Assignment - Prepare for in-class presentation
  • Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.


Assignment - Final article
  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.



Handout: Polishing your article

Week 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 April 2016   |   Thursday, 28 April 2016
In class - In-class presentation
  •   Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 15

Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 May 2016   |   Thursday, 5 May 2016
Milestones

Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.

Week 16

Course meetings
Tuesday, 10 May 2016   |   Thursday, 12 May 2016