Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Washington/Building Successful Online Communities (Spring 2021)
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- Course name
- Building Successful Online Communities
- Institution
- University of Washington
- Instructor
- Benjamin Mako Hill
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Communication
- Course dates
- 2021-03-29 00:00:00 UTC – 2021-06-04 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
This course combines an in-depth look into several decades of research into online communities and computer-mediated communication with exercises that aim to give students experience applying this research to the evaluation of, and hands-on participation in, online communities.
As communication majors in the twenty-first century, I expect that students taking this course will, after graduation, work in jobs that involve working with or managing online communities. This class seeks to inform these experiences by helping you learn how to use and contribute to online communities more effectively and how to construct, improve, or design your own online communities.
We are engaging with Wikipedia so that students can learn from the experiencing of joining, engage, contributing effectively to a large, complex, online community. Students will improve existing articles and then reflect on their experience joining the community by suggesting ways that Wikipedia might improve its own processes.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 30 March 2021
- Assignment - 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.)
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 April 2021
- Assignment - Learning about Wikipedia
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 13 April 2021
- Assignment - Compile research and write draft
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 20 April 2021
- Assignment - Peer review two articles
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 27 April 2021
- 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.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- 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 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 4 May 2021
- 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 Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
- 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 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 11 May 2021
- 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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!
- Assignment - Reflection Essay
See the syllabus for details.
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.