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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Swarthmore/Russian Fairy Tales (Spring 2018)

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Course name
Russian Fairy Tales
Institution
Swarthmore
Instructor
Sibelan Forrester
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Russian
Course dates
2018-02-05 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-03-22 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
9


Learning how to write an encyclopedia entry, selecting topics that have not yet been adequately presented on Wikipedia, and writing or editing one or more article(s) relevant to the topic of Russian Fairy Tales or Russian folklore and folk belief.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Eclaireaio
Emilysokol
Eeppley2
Saskia Bock
Najasmith Bogatyr

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 February 2018   |   Thursday, 8 February 2018
Introduction to the Wikipedia project

Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well. 


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. 


Your 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. 

Assignment - Set up your accounts & evaluate Wikipedia

Get set up

Wikipedia Evaluation



  • While you read, consider some 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    • Is any information out of date?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 conversation is the Wikipedia community having behind the scenes about how to represent these topics? How is the article rated on Wikipedia's article quality scale? 
    • What sections are included in the book articles? What kinds of sources? Make notes in case you were to build out a similar article for a different text.
  • Take notes in your sandbox about what you've learned during this evaluation process. 
  • 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 — Najasmith (talk) 06:21, 22 March 2018 (UTC).[reply]
Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 February 2018   |   Thursday, 15 February 2018
In class - Tuesday Discussion
What's a content gap?
  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What content gaps exist about Russian science fiction? 
  • 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"?
  • What articles did you find that you might want to work on to help fill these gaps? 


Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
  • Over the break you were asked to look up a few topics on Wikipedia that you wanted to work on. This week, finalize your topic and on the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself. If you still haven't picked a topic, check out the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab above and assign yourself one from there. 
  • 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, too. 
    • 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. 
    • If you choose to update or create a biography of an author, check out the Editing Wikipedia articles on Biographies handout. 

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 February 2018   |   Thursday, 22 February 2018
In class - Tuesday 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?


Assignment - Copyedit & draft your article

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

Copyedit
Read through it, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. Then, make the appropriate changes. 


Creating a new article?


  •  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. 

Improving an 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. 



Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.


Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

In class - If you want to translate your article

To start: 

  • Take the necessary assigned training modules. 
  • Copy your article from the target-language Wikipedia into your sandbox.
  • Begin to translate your work.
  • Introduce citations from English-language texts or other language texts that support the facts stated in your translated article. Adjust your translation if necessary.
  • For each sentence you translate, make a note of the sources used in the original article. Are they good sources? Do they really say what the Wikipedia article describes?

When you're ready to move your work live: 

  • Move your sandbox draft into main space. 
    • If you are expanding an existing article, it's time to add your revised translation (including English sources, when available). 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. Be sure to check the article's talk page and respond to suggestions from Wikipedians. Don't panic if your edits are removed or changed! Discuss it civilly on the article's talk page, and make a note of it for your report or presentation about your editing experience.
    • 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 instruction on the "Moving out of your sandbox" handout.
  • In your first edit to the article namespace, include a link of the source article (i.e., the article you translated) in the "edit summary" before hitting "save."
  • Copy the code to the bottom of the Wikipedia article, replacing es with the language code of the language you a translating from and replacing Page Title with the title of the source page.



Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 27 February 2018   |   Thursday, 1 March 2018
In class - Tuesday 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?


Assignment - Expand your draft
  • 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, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  • Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column. 
  • Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is 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? 
Milestones

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

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 March 2018   |   Thursday, 8 March 2018
Assignment - Respond to peer review & start moving live

Respond to 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!


  • 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. 

Move your work live
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!

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 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 March 2018   |   Thursday, 22 March 2018
Assignment - Finish your article

Do additional research and writing 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. 
  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
  • Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help! 
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