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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Illinois at Chicago/Public Relations and Digital Media (Spring)

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Course name
Public Relations and Digital Media
Institution
University of Illinois at Chicago
Instructor
Zach McDowell
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Communication
Course dates
2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-03 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
30


SYLLABUS: http://bit(.)ly/comm206fa18syllabus

This class will provide a historical, interpretive, and critical overview of the history of public relations as well as its role in contemporary society, with particular emphasis on contemporary digital media campaigns. This is not a “how to do public relations course.” Rather, we will study how public relations messages build identities and persuade publics by identifying and shaping audience understandings, beliefs and values. We will also study how public relations messages offer the corporation as the source of both social stability and progress. Through this understanding, students will learn to analyze, address, engage with, and craft public relations messaging.

This group project will be a significant improvement to a Wikipedia stub (short article) or a new article that accurately and neutrally covers a local nonprofit. Your group will collaborate on finding proper sources, writing a neutral and balanced article that adheres to the guidelines, as well as commenting on other groups’ projects.

Course Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will be able to apply the principles or public relations to specific cases studies, organizations, and professional situations.
  2. Students will be able to design, construct, and disseminate public relations campaigns and strategies for all media –print, analog, digital, and social.
  3. Students will be able to identify and analyze the use of ethics in public relations and social media.
  4. Students will be able to critique the use of social media in public relations.
Student Assigned Reviewing
Eadams20 Safe Humane Chicago Life After Hate
CUBSGRL Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation One Million Degrees
Tfpvam One Million Degrees Open Books
Nwm28 One Million Degrees Open Books
SuperSenior Open Books After School Matters
Ja00brien One Million Degrees Open Books
EyesOnYou Life After Hate Safe Humane Chicago
Rachelernst88 Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation One Million Degrees
Jval730 After School Matters Animal House Shelter
Achicago88 Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation One Million Degrees
Gsab2 Life After Hate Safe Humane Chicago
Lauraski Open Books After School Matters
Theynostaydead Animal House Shelter Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
Aquint22 After School Matters Animal House Shelter
Bee 12 Safe Humane Chicago Life After Hate
JM1922 One Million Degrees Open Books
JH 9526 Life After Hate Safe Humane Chicago
Alex ozo Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation One Million Degrees
ImmaniFaith One Million Degrees Open Books
Tvtovo Safe Humane Chicago Life After Hate
Taylor Emm Open Books After School Matters
Jennymayo After School Matters Animal House Shelter
Mhoust4 Animal House Shelter Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
MLancer1496 Animal House Shelter Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
RUbeandip Animal House Shelter Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
NikL Safe Humane Chicago Life After Hate
Kwiatek1212 Animal House Shelter Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
Mgarcdlv After School Matters Animal House Shelter
Vbigau2 Life After Hate Safe Humane Chicago
Juliaelizabetht Open Books After School Matters

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 January 2018   |   Thursday, 18 January 2018
In class - Unit I
Public Relations History and Critique
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

Your Wikipedia projects are broken down 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. 


 To get started, please review the following handouts: 


Also, check out these articles:



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
Tuesday, 23 January 2018   |   Thursday, 25 January 2018
In class - Screening
Toxic Sludge is Good for You?

[[%20https://uic.kanopystreaming.com/video/toxic-sludge-good-you-public-relations-industry-unspun|Toxic Sludge is Good For You? - Kanopy Streaming (requires UIC login)]]

In class - Discussion
Content gaps and representation in Wikipedia and the world

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
Tuesday, 30 January 2018   |   Thursday, 1 February 2018
Assignment - Little changes change the world
Adding / Changing information on Wikipedia

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article:


  • 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. 


In class - First Steps
Interacting with Wikipedia

In Class: Go to the community portal and explore some ways to "Help Out" Wikipedia


Assignment - Evaluating Wikipedia Articles, Evaluating Information

We need to think critically about information. Wikipedia articles are a great way to learn and practice this, as you can actively participate in improving the information available. 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?
  •  Optional: 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 — ZachMcDowell (talk) 19:00, 26 August 2018 (UTC). [reply]

Finally: Send an email to your Professor with the link to your sandbox when completed (due before class on Tuesday, February 6th)

Milestones

Everyone will be done with their Basic Wikipedia training.

Week 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 February 2018   |   Thursday, 8 February 2018
Assignment - You're not in it alone
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.


Assignment - Choose your project (as a group)
  • Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
  • Investigate 3-5 potential local nonprofits in Chicago that you might want to update on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article (if it exists) and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Identify one or two areas from each that you could improve. Ensure they are "notable" by finding external media sources that discuss their work (Hint: start with local or national newspapers, but many nonprofits will have a "media" section where they've already aggregated news stories!)
  • Choose two potential nonprofits from that list that you can tackle, and post links to the articles and your notes about what you might improve in your sandbox. 
  • Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 February 2018   |   Thursday, 15 February 2018
In class - Work on group presentations

Week 6

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

Week 7

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

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 March 2018   |   Thursday, 8 March 2018
In class - Unit II
Ethics and PR
In class - Discussion
Thinking about sourcing, 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?


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?
  • How does understanding Wikipedia as a source of information change the way you understand information in general?
  • 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


In class - Professional Wikipedia PR Guidelines

Read: Wikipedia and the Communication Professional - A manual
This manual will guide your team to appropriately and ethically edit Wikipedia articles about the local nonprofit that you choose. Read it - it is your new PR bible. 

Assignment - Finalize your project / Find your sources
  • Make sure you're assigned to your article (will do in class)
  • 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 sources 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 - Draft your article

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

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


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.

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 March 2018   |   Thursday, 15 March 2018
In class - Screening
Philanthropy, inc.
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?

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 March 2018   |   Thursday, 22 March 2018
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. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review. 
  •  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? 

Check out The Perfect Article - not everything will be relevant, but does it meet these criteria? If not, what could change?

Assignment - Continue improving 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.
  • Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take the 'Contributing Images and Media Files' training before you upload an image.

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 April 2018   |   Thursday, 5 April 2018
Milestones

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


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!

  • 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.


In class - Unit III
Digital Media and PR
In class - Screening
Generation "Like"

Discussion of how PR has shifted in digital media settings



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!

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 10 April 2018   |   Thursday, 12 April 2018
In class - Propaganda, PR, Digital Media, and US Politics



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!


In class - Intertwine
review your Wikipedia article draft with your peers!

Intertwine is a platform where you you will be chatting with student editors enrolled in other Wiki Education courses. This week, the featured activities include:

  • Sharing the Wikipedia article your drafted with your peers.  
  • Getting feedbacks from your peers on how to make your Wikipedia article even better
  • Providing feedbacks to your peers and help them improve their article

Sign up for a session here. If you haven’t logged in using your Wikipedia account, you will first be redirected to Wikipedia logging page. After logging in using your Wikipedia credentials, you will be able to sign up for our activity.

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 17 April 2018   |   Thursday, 19 April 2018

Week 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 24 April 2018   |   Thursday, 26 April 2018
Assignment - Prepare for in-class presentation
  • Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 15

Course meetings
Tuesday, 1 May 2018   |   Thursday, 3 May 2018
In class - In-class presentation

Present about your Wikipedia article and your editing experience.

Each group will present for 15 minutes covering what organization you chose to improve / create an article for, as well as a reflection on the process of editing:


Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:


  1. Tell us about your organization
    1. Who are they? Give us a brief background on them and why you chose them.
    2. Did you have any contact with them? How helpful were they?
  2. Tell us about the process of finding information for writing your article
    1. Did you have any issues here?
    2. Did you article get reverted or deleted? How did you handle this?
  3. Tell us about the editing process for writing your article.
    1. What did you learn through editing?
    2. What did you learn through peer reviewing?
    3. Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors?
  4. Show us your article, maybe look through the history to compare and lead us through the process?
    1. Is there anything else you’d like to improve?
    2. What would you do differently knowing what you know now?
  5. Any other conflicts or issues that you ran into? Anything else you might want to share?
Milestones

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


In class - Turn in peer review form

Download, fill out, and turn in the peer review form to your instructor on Blackboard:

Peer Evaluation form

Use this as a guideline for project grading. Since each Wikipedia assignment has its own constraints, please take this as a guideline for understanding requirements, as I will take your particular project into consideration.
Wikipedia Project Rubric

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