Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Alabama at Birmingham/Evolution (Fall 2023)

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Course name: Evolution

Institution: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Instructor: Peggy Biga

Wikipedia Expert: Ian (Wiki Ed)

Subject: Science Communication

Course dates: 2023-08-21 00:00:00 UTC – 2023-12-01 23:59:59 UTC

Approximate number of student editors: 70

This course will introduce the history of evolutionary thought and modern evolutionary theory. Our discussions will cover (but are not limit to) the history of life, mechanisms of evolutionary change, adaptation, speciation, life-history evolution, sexual selection and molecular evolution. We will also discuss historical and contemporary studies of evolution on a wide variety of topics and organisms.

Course objectives:

To demonstrate the importance and relevance of evolutionary theory to all disciplines in the biological sciences.

To understand evolutionary biology as a rigorous scientific field and to describe what evolutionary theory does and does not tell us about the diversity of life on Earth. To bring together the prevailing ideas on evolutionary theory to help you create an informed framework for thought about evolutionary issues in all fields of biological science.

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings

Monday, 21 August 2023 | Wednesday, 23 August 2023 | Friday, 25 August 2023

In class - 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.)

If you already have an account (becuase you have done this before...just log in!)

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings

Monday, 28 August 2023 | Wednesday, 30 August 2023 | Friday, 1 September 2023

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

In class - Discussion

Week 3

Course meetings

Wednesday, 6 September 2023 | Friday, 8 September 2023

Assignment - Choose your article

As a group, you should choose a main topic to work on and a main article to work on together. You should all assign yourselves teh same article. This will create a shared sandbox where you can all work together.

In class - Discussion

Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Biographies

Environmental Sciences

Genes and Proteins

Science Communication

Week 4

Course meetings

Monday, 11 September 2023 | Wednesday, 13 September 2023 | Friday, 15 September 2023

Assignment - Make a small edit

Week 5

Course meetings

Monday, 18 September 2023 | Wednesday, 20 September 2023 | Friday, 22 September 2023

Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings

Monday, 25 September 2023 | Wednesday, 27 September 2023 | Friday, 29 September 2023

Assignment - Peer review an article

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion

Milestones

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

Week 7

Course meetings

Monday, 2 October 2023 | Wednesday, 4 October 2023 | Friday, 6 October 2023

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.

To earn credit for this assignment, make sure to go into Canvas and fill in the text box with a review or outline of what edits you are making from the reviews.

Resources:

Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 8

Course meetings

Monday, 9 October 2023 | Wednesday, 11 October 2023 | Friday, 13 October 2023

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

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 9

Course meetings

Monday, 16 October 2023 | Wednesday, 18 October 2023 | Friday, 20 October 2023

Assignment - Continue improving your article

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.

Week 10

Course meetings

Monday, 23 October 2023 | Wednesday, 25 October 2023 | Friday, 27 October 2023

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!

Week 11

Course meetings

Monday, 30 October 2023 | Wednesday, 1 November 2023 | Friday, 3 November 2023

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!

In class - In-class presentation

Assignment - Reflective essay

Week 12

Course meetings

Monday, 6 November 2023 | Wednesday, 8 November 2023 | Friday, 10 November 2023

Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.