sample syllabus for wikipedia assignment
TRANSCRIPT
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Wikimedia Foundation
TheSyllabus:
A12-week
assignmenttowriteaWikipedia
article
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Instructor Basics: How to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool
This brochure covers key Wikipedia policies and structure youll
need to understand, best practices on article selection and
working with the community, and sample grading structures.
http://education.wikimedia.org/instructorbasics
Case Studies: How professors are teaching with Wikipedia
Fiteen proessors rom six countries are eatured in this brochure,
as each explains how he or she used Wikipedia in the classroom
or how he or she graded the assignment. The web version o the
brochure includes links to syllabi and assignment handouts.
http://education.wikimedia.org/casestudies
Online Orientation: Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool
All instructors are highly encouraged to complete the online
orientation or educators beore planning a syllabus. It will
introduce you to the culture and rules o Wikipedia, demonstrate
the basics o editing, and walk you through a typical Wikipedia
assignment like this one.
http://enwp.org/WP:EDUCATOR
Useul resources
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Using this syllabus
Before you begin
This sample syllabus document is thethird in a series o brochures about howto use Wikipedia as a teaching tool.Beore you delve into the specics o
syllabus construction, you may wantto consult the Instructor Basics andCase Studies brochures to get a betteridea o best practices, what learningobjectives the assignments can achieve,and how you might want to grade a
Wikipedia assignment. You are alsohighly encouraged to go through theonline orientation or educators.
This document provides a ull-termsample syllabus or a major Wikipediawriting assignment, incorporating many
o the best practices or such projects.You can use it as a starting point oryour own Wikipedia assignments, ortake bits and pieces to adapt to yourcourse.
This sample syllabus is or a 12-weekassignment to write Wikipedia articles.For syllabi using other Wikipediaassignments, see the Case Studiesbrochure.
Understanding icons we use
Handouts
Throughout this brochure, well reerence handouts you
should pass out to your students. All o these handouts are
linked rom the web version o this brochure:
http://education.wikimedia.org/syllabus
MilestonesExperienced instructors say it is crucial or students who
are going to be editing Wikipedia to become comortable
not only with the markup, but also the community.
Requiring milestones throughout the term will acclimate
students to the site and head o procrastination.
Instructors who do not set up these milestones throughout
the term usually have bad experiences with their
assignments.
WP:EDUCATORS
ShortcutsShortcuts to important pages on Wikipedia are listed
throughout this syllabus as |shortcut WP:EDUCATORS
To use one, simply type the shortcut into the search bar
on Wikipedia and press enter.
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12-week syllabus timeline
Wikipedia assignments work best whenyou introduce them early in the term,since the students need to acquaintthemselves with the technology.Knowing what they are preparing
themselves or makes learning the insand outs o Wikipedia relevant.
Try to integrate your Wikipediaassignment with the course themes.Engage your students with questionso media fuency and knowledgeconstruction throughout your course
Online student training
http://enwp.org/WP:STUDENT
The online training or students introduces the Wikipedia
community and how it works, demonstrates the basics o
editing and walks students through their rst edits, gives
advice or selecting articles and drating revisions, and
covers some o the ways they can nd help as they get
started. It takes about an hour and ends with a certication
step that you can use to veriy that students completed the
training.|shortcut WP:STUDENT
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Editing basicsIt is important to get students editing Wikipedia r ight away
so that they become amiliar with the MediaWiki markup
("wikisyntax", "wikimarkup", or "wikicode"). As the instructor,
you have several options to teach them this technical material.
You can teach it yoursel, invite Wikipedia's Campus
Ambassadors and/or local Wikipedians to do so, or contact a
teaching and technology center on your campus and ask or theirassistance. You can also assign students to complete a standard
online training. We suggest that, however you choose to do this,
you have the students learn the basics o editing, the anatomy o
an article, and ways to select ar ticles suitable or the assignment.
Wikipedia essentialsWhen youre introducing your class and going over the
syllabus, be sure to let students know theyll be working on
Wikipedia this term. This can be a good time to talk about
their preconceived notions o Wikipedia and see i any
students have edited in the past.
Week 1 Week 2
Overview o the course
Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
Handout: Welcome to Wikipedia brochure (availableonline or in print rom the Wikimedia Foundation)
In class
In class
Assignment (due Week 2)
Assignment (due Week 3)
Your Wikipedia course pageBeore your class begins, you'll need to create a course
page on Wikipedia. Course pages are typically used
to explainto both students and the Wikipedia
communitythe details o your Wikipedia assignments,
to keep track o which students are in the class and
which articles they are working on, and to ask questions
and discuss problems. For details on how to set up
a course page, see the Welcome to the Wikipedia
Education Program brochure or go to the pageWikipedia:Course pages.|shortcut WP:COURSE
Start the online student orientation. During this training, youwill create an account, make edits in asandbox, and learn the
basic rules o Wikipedia. |shortcut WP:STUDENT
Basics o editing
Anatomy o Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how todistinguish between good and bad articles
Tips on nding the best articles to work on or class assignments
Handouts: Using talk pages handout, EvaluatingWikipedia article quality brochure, and Wikimarkup
cheatsheet (included in Welcome to Wikipedia
brochure)
Complete the online training or students.
Create a user page, and sign up on the list o students on the
course page.
To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduceyoursel to any Wikipedians helping your class (such as a
Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message or a classmate on
their user talk page.
Milestone
All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listedon the course page.
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Exploring the topic areaIt is critical or students to begin researching their Wikipedia
topics early in the term. Finding topics with the right balance
between lack o prior good Wikipedia coverage and available
literature rom which to build new Wikipedia coverage can
be tricky. As an alternative to assigning students to propose
Wikipedia topics to write about, you may wish to prepare a
list o appropriate non-existent or underdeveloped articlesahead o time. This requires more preparation but gets
students to the point o researching and writing their articles
sooner.
Using sourcesAs they start using sources to improve Wikipedia articles, it is
especially important or students to understand Wikipedias
policies on plagiarism and copyright violation. Student generally
know that copying whole paragraphs or sentences rom sources
constitutes plagiarism. But many don't know aboutor think
they can get away withsubtler orms o plagiarism, such as
using shorter phrases without attribution or beginning rom acopied text and simply rewording it while leaving the structure
and meaning intact (i.e., close paraphrasing). Any orm o
plagiarism or copyright violation is likely to result in students'
work being removed rom Wikipedia.
Youre the expert
Applying your own expertise to Wikipedias coverage
o your eld will be key to a successul assignment.
You understand the broader intellectual context where
individual topics t in, you can recognize where Wikipedia
alls short, you knowor know how to ndthe relevant
literature, and you know what topics your students should
be able to handle. So your guidance on article choice and
sourcing is crit ical or both your students success and theimprovement o Wikipedia.
Week 3 Week 4
In class
In class
Assignment (due Week 4)
Assignment (due Week 5)
For next week
Handouts: Advice or choosing articles and How toget help
Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to theclass, and leave suggestions or improving it on the articles talk
page.
Research and list 35 articles on your Wikipedia user page thatyou will consider working on as your main project. Ask your
instructor or comment.
Handouts: Reerencing on Wikipedia and Understanding
Wikipedias copyright policy
Add 12 sentences o new inormation, backed up with a citationto an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the
class.
Instructor evaluates students article selections, by week 5.
Getting help
When things go wrongstudents articles are challenged,
students get into arguments with other editors, or youor the students are simply unsure about how to solve a
problemyou should seek out help immediately. I there
are experienced Wikipedians working with your class
(such as Online Ambassadors), try asking them rst.
You can post problems and questions to the Education
noticeboard |shortcut WP:ENB For guidance getting
started or either you or your students, try the Teahouse
|shortcut WP:TH a riendly space or new editors. The
online orientation highlights other places you can go orhelp.
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Choosing articlesBy this week, ideally, you have evaluated the students' article
choices and given them eedback, helping them to choose
articles that are appropriate or the assignment. Because
students oten wait until the last minute to do their research
or choose sources unsuited or Wikipedia, we strongly
suggest that the students put together a bibliography o
materials they want to use in editing the article which canthen be assessed by you and other Wikipedians.
Drafting starter articlesOnce students have gotten somewhat o a grip on their topics
and the sources they wil l use to write about them, its time to
start writing on Wikipedia. You can assign them to jump right
in and edit live or start in their own sandboxes. There are pros
and cons to each approach.
Pros and cons to sandboxes: Sandboxes make students eel saebecause they can edit without the pressure o the whole world
reading their drats or other Wikipedians altering their writing.
However, sandbox editing limits many o the unique aspects o
using Wikipedia as a teaching tool, such as collaborative writing
and incremental drating. Spending more than a week or two in
sandboxes is strongly discouraged.
Pros and cons to editing live: Editing live is exciting or the
students because they can see their changes to the articlesimmediately and experience the collaborative editing process
throughout the assignment. However, because new editors oten
unintentionally break Wikipedia rules, sometimes students
additions are questioned or removed.
Week 5 Week 6
In class
In class
Assignment (due Week 6)
Assignment (due Week 7)
Discuss the range o topics students will be working on andstrategies or researching and writing about them.
Select an article to work on, removing the rest rom your userpage. Add your article to the classs course page.
Compile a bibliography o relevant reliable sources and post itto the talk page o the article you are working on. Begin reading
the sources.
Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit
the concept o sandboxes and how to use them.
Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors aboutinteracting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
I you are starting a new article, write a 34 paragraph summaryversion o your articlewith citationsin your Wikipedia sandbox.
I you are improving an existing article, write a summary version
refecting the content the article will have ater it's been improved,
and post this along with a brie description o your plans on the
articles talk page.
Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish yourshort starter article and x any major issues.
Continue research in preparation or expanding your article.
Milestone
All students have started editing articles or drats onWikipedia.
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Moving articles to the main spaceWhether students are starting new art icles or expanding
existing art icles, its critical to get them working live on
Wikipedia as soon as possible. Short summary versions
or new articles (and short existing articles that have been
expanded ve-old) are great starting points or working live
in main space.
Wikipedia processes
Advanced students articles may qualiy or submission
to Did You Know, a section on Wikipedias main
page eaturing new content. Submitting articles toDYK will probably be your classs rst major contact
with Wikipedias behind-the-scenes article processes.
We strongly recommend either try ing this yoursel
beorehand, or working closely with one or more
experienced Wikipedians to help your students navigate
the process smoothly. I your students are working on a
related set o articles, it may be good to combine multiple
article nominations into a single hook; this helps keep
your students work rom swamping the process orantagonizing the editors who maintain it.
Week 7 Week 8
In class
Assignment (due Week 8)
Handout: Moving out o your sandbox
Move sandbox articles into main space.
Optional: For new articles or qualiying expansions o stubs,compose a one-sentence hook, nominate it or Did you
know, and monitor the nomination or any issues identied
by other editors.
Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatmento the topic.
Workshop in class or outside of class
Assignment (due Week 9)
Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
Share experiences and discuss problems.
Handouts: Uploading images and Evaluating Wikipediaarticle quality (handed out originally in week 2)
Expand your article into an initial drat o a comprehensivetreatment o the topic.
Select two classmates articles that you will peer review andcopy-edit. (You dont need to start reviewing yet.)
Building articlesAt this point, many students will have gotten it, and have a
clear understanding o how to move orward. From there, the
most important thing is giv ing eedback, both on the work
theyre doingwhat is missing, what sources could be used to
improve it, whether the balance is appropriateand on how
to keep within Wikipedias guidelines, particularly Neutral
Point o View |shortcut WP:NPOV and No Original Research.|shortcut WP:NOR
Other students may have stumbled with some element o
getting their initial work live on Wikipedia. This is the key
point to identiy where students are having troublewhether
rom negative reactions rom other editors, technical hang-ups,
problems nding good sources and using them appropriately,
plagiarism, or something else. This is a good time to do a quick
scan (at least) o what each student has contributed so ar.
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Getting and giving feedbackCollaboration is a critical element o contributing to
Wikipedia. For some students, this wil l happen
spontaneously; their choice o topics will attract interested
Wikipedians who will pitch in with ideas, copy-edits, or even
substantial contributions to the students articles. Online
Ambassadors who take a strong interest in the topics students
are working on can make great collaborators. In many cases,however, there will be l ittle spontaneous editing o students
articles beore the end o the term. Fortunately, a class ull
o ellow learners is a great pool o peer reviewers. You can
make the most o this by assigning students to review each
others articles soon ater ull-length drats are posted, to give
students plenty o time to act on the advice o their peers.
Rating Wikipedia articles
The initiative to improve the quality o all ar ticles has led
Wikipedians to introduce a rating system (summarized
below) that describes the progression rom Stub to
Featured Article. Encourage your students to amiliarize
themselves with this rating system and use it when doing
peer reviews o each others articles. Students should keep
in mind that B-class and C-class art icles on Wikipedia
are not equivalent to a t raditional B or C class work
in academia. Good Article and Featured Article are only
attainable through a challenging peer-review process on
Wikipedia, and only the most advanced students should
contemplate submitting their work to these processes.
Week 9
In class
Assignment (due Week 10)
As a group, have the students oer suggestions or improvingone or two o the students articles, setting the example or
what is expected rom a solid encyclopedia article.
Peer review two o your classmates articles. Leave suggestionson the article talk pages.
Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
Milestone
All articles have been reviewed by others. All studentshave reviewed articles by their classmates.
FA
The article meets the featured article criteria |shortcut
WP:FACR and has gone through the FA candidates process
|shortcut WP:FAC Achieving FA status is rare, althoughnot unprecedented, or Wikipedia class projects.
GA
The article meets the good article criteria |shortcut
WP:GACR and has gone though a successulgood
article nomination |shortcut WP:GAN Good articles
are challenging, but possible, or classes that engage with
Wikipedia throughout the term. Leave more time or review
and revision o GAs are your goal, since it t ypically takes
several weeks beore a nominated article receives a review.
B
The article is mostly complete and without major issues, butrequires some urther work to reach good article standards.
This level o quality is realistic or good students who work
hard on their Wikipedia assignments and work on ar ticles
that are not too broad.
C
The article is substantial, but is still missing important
content or contains a lot o irrelevant material. Your students
can do better than this, but it will take eort.
Start
An article is developing, but is still incomplete and may
require urther reliable sources. Without eedback andguidance rom the instructor, this is the typical level o
quality achieved by students. It 's also, approximately, the
typical level o quality o a random Wikipedia article longer
than a ew paragraphs.
Stub
The article contains only a very basic description o the topic,
rom a single sentence up to a ew paragraphs. (Articles
marked as stubs may actually have improved beyond stub
status.)
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Class presentationsHaving students explicitly refect on their experiences with
Wikipedia, through presentations and/or refective essays, can
help draw out and solidiy what theyve learned about Wikipedia
in particular and media literacy and research more generally.
Such assignments, when they include explicit summaries or
documentation o what students did or tried to do on Wikipedia,
can also serve as the lens or evaluating and grading studentsWikipedia work.
All assignments dueYou made it!
Responding to feedbackAt this point, students should have produced nearly complete
articles. Now is the chance to encourage them to wade a
little deeper into Wikipedia and its norms and criteria or
great content. Youll probably have discussed many o the
core principles o Wikipediaand related issues you want
to ocus onbut now that theyve experienced rst-hand
how Wikipedia works, this is a good time to return to topicslike neutrality, media fuency, and the impact and limits o
Wikipedia. Consider bringing in a guest speaker, having
a panel discussion, or simply having an open discussion
amongst the class about what the students have done so ar
and why (or whether) it matters.
Week 10 Week 11
Week 12
In class
In class
Open discussion o the concepts o neutrality, media literacy,and the impact and limits o Wikipedia.
Make edits to your article based on peers eedback. Prepareor an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing
experience.
Assignment (due Week 11)
Assignment (due Week 12)
Students give in-class presentations about their experiencesediting Wikipedia.
Add nal touches to your Wikipedia article.
Write a refective essay (25 pages) on your Wikipediacontributions.
Milestone
Students have nished all their work on Wikipediathat will be considered or grading, and havesubmitted refective essays.
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Sample Grading StructureIn grading a research and write an article type o assignment, the ollowing grading
rubric has been successul:
This is a basic grading schemeappropriate or a Wikipedia assignmentsimilar to this one. For more ideas onhow to grade Wikipedia assignments,see the grading rubrics section o the
Instructor Basics brochure.
Participation grade or early Wikipedia exercises
Participation in class blog or class discussions
Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
Quality o your main Wikipedia contributions
Refective essay
5% each (x3)
10%
10%
50%
15%
student grade
Grading
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Ready to join the Wikipedia Education Program?Education programs already exist in manycountries, and Wikimedia volunteers arecreating new programs every term. In countrieswhere the Wikipedia Education Program is inoperation, volunteer Wikipedia Ambassadorsmay be available to oer you and your studentsassistance in learning the best ways to contributeto Wikipedia or class.
Join us! For more inormation, visithttp://education.wikimedia.org
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Wikipedia:CC-BY-SA) or any later
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