Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Georgetown University/CommunicationTheory and Frameworks (Fall 2015)
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- Course name
- CommunicationTheory and Frameworks
- Institution
- Georgetown University
- Instructor
- Turnj
- Subject
- Communication Theory
- Course dates
- 2015-09-08 – 2015-12-08
- Approximate number of student editors
- 15
Description: This course provides students with an overview of important theories in communication. The course will examine interpersonal, organizational, mass communication, and mediated theories for explaining the content and form of messages and the role of communicators as individuals, participants, and members of communities. Students will explore how these theories explain various aspects of message production, underlying assumptions supporting these explanations, and the implications of these explanations on how communication is studied.
Timeline
Week 1
- 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
- Assignment - Practicing the basics
- Create an account and then complete the online training for students. 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.
Resources: Online Training for Students
Week 2
- 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
Week 3
- In class - Using sources
- Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
- 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.
- 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.
Week 4
- In class - Discuss the article topics
- Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.
Week 5
- 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.
- Assignment - Wikipedia Plan
- Fist Reflection and Contribution
This paper provides the opportunity for you to reflect on the theory you have chosen for your Wikipedia page and the current progress on the site. For this paper you should provide a brief description of your theory, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your site, reflect on what your goals for the page are going to be and where you see yourself contributing. Provide an initial list of at least 10 references that you will be consulting to help you in the process. What is your plan for incorporating these references into the paper? (Estimate 2-3 pages with a list of references).
- Milestones
All students have Wikipedia user accounts, have completed the training, are listed on the course page and have two sources ready to add on lab day.
Week 6
- 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
- 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.
- Milestones
All Students have submitted their Wikipedia plan
Week 7
- In class - Building articles
- Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
- Share experiences and discuss problems.
Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Complete first draft
- Expand your article into a first draft.
Week 8
- 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.
- Assignment - Draft for Peer Reviews
Make contributions that you would like feedback on and have them posted on your Wikipedia page for peer review.
- In class - Media literacy discussion
- Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
Week 9
- 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 - Peer Review
- Provide peer review and editing to two assigned Wikipedia pages. Write 3 paragraphs on the author’s comment page about the changes you made and your thoughts on the page.
- Milestones
Every Student has worked on their page and are ready to receive peer reviews
Week 10
- Milestones
Every Student has provided peer reviews to two other students
Week 11
- Assignment - Final Report
- Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.
- Assignment - Final Article
- Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
Handout: Polishing your article
Week 12
- Milestones
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.