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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Southern Indiana/Introduction to Mass Communication (Spring 2016)

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Course name
Introduction to Mass Communication
Institution
University of Southern Indiana
Instructor
Chad Tew
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Journalism
Course dates
2016-01-11 – 2016-05-04
Approximate number of student editors
50


Presentation, lectures, and assignments designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of mass communication; to foster an understanding of the roles and functions of communication media in our society; to present concepts and principles of journalism; and to prepare students to be intelligent users of media.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Mrharmon1 User:Crtew/Niles Horner
Tevin Johnson User:Crtew/Teodoro Escanilla
Snmoring User:Crtew/Ruqia Hassan
Sobowers User:Crtew/Enenche Akogwu
Aebono User:Crtew/Bwizamani Singh
Erglowner User:Crtew/Norbert Zongo
Jdjohnson2 User:Crtew/Tomohiro Kojiri
Ajmorlock User:Crtew/Elsa Cayat
Knstewart User:Crtew/Al-Hosseiny Abou Deif
Whitneyrobertson User:Crtew/Fakher Haider
Apowell2 User:Crtew/Simon Cumbers
Nmdubon User:Crtew/Rubén Espinosa
Trush14 User:Crtew/Almigdad Mojalli
Ajhamilton1 User:Crtew/Sabina Sehgal Saikia
Hnsulawske User:Crtew/Ítalo Eduardo Diniz Barros
Clmorton User:Crtew/Robert Stevens (photo editor)
Kldelph User:Crtew/Birendra Shah
Jpkuester User:Crtew/Alexei Sidorov
Cryolablue User:Crtew/Uma Singh
Mlschuette User:Crtew/1994 roadside attack on Spin magazine journalists
Emilymartyn User:Crtew/Naji al Jurf
Endobson1 User:Crtew/Michael Tshele
Edrake1 User:Crtew/Jean-Remy Badio
Ajlee5574 User:Crtew/Juan Gossaín
Jchutchcra User:Crtew/Jamin Shah
Brsapp User:Crtew/Aleh Byabenin
Mllamaster User:Crtew/Lea Schiavi
Keegan.katter User:Crtew/Gleydson Carvalho
Dldarden User:Crtew/Arun Singhaniya
Amrains User:Crtew/Assassination of Saif Talal and Hassan Al-Anbaki
Emgreder User:Crtew/Terrorist attack on Tolo Television
SummerOeth13 User:Crtew/Zakariya Isa
Mghammonds User:Crtew/Rob Sheffield
Tohall17 Ursula Gauthier
Hrrheinlan User:Crtew/2014 attack on Shuja'iyya
Zkmace User:Crtew/Juan Pala
Geclark5 User:Crtew/Devi Prasad Dhital
Whitney2736 User:Crtew/Fakher Haider

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 12 January 2016   |   Thursday, 14 January 2016
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

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 19 January 2016   |   Thursday, 21 January 2016
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 on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the 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.


Milestones

All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 January 2016   |   Thursday, 28 January 2016
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 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 2 February 2016   |   Thursday, 4 February 2016
In class - Using sources
  • Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.



Handouts: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism


Assignment - Choosing your article
  • Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 9 February 2016   |   Thursday, 11 February 2016
In class - Discuss the article topics
  • Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.


Assignment - Finalize your topic and start researching
  • Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your topic on the course page.
  • 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.


Assignment - Drafting starter articles
  • If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
  • Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
  • Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

Week 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 February 2016   |   Thursday, 18 February 2016
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.
Milestones

All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7

Course meetings
Tuesday, 23 February 2016   |   Thursday, 25 February 2016
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.

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 1 March 2016   |   Thursday, 3 March 2016
In class - Building articles
  • Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
  • Share experiences and discuss problems.



Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


Assignment - Choose articles to peer review
  • Select a classmates’ article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the article you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 15 March 2016   |   Thursday, 17 March 2016
Assignment - Complete first draft
  • Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 22 March 2016   |   Thursday, 24 March 2016
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 - Peer review and copyedit
  • Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
  • Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
Milestones

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

Week 11

Course meetings
Thursday, 31 March 2016
In class - Media literacy discussion
  • Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.


Assignment - Address peer review suggestions
  • Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 5 April 2016   |   Thursday, 7 April 2016
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 - Continue improving articles
  • Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
  • Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 12 April 2016   |   Thursday, 14 April 2016
Assignment - Final article
  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.



Handout: Polishing your article


Assignment - Reflective essay
  • Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 19 April 2016   |   Thursday, 21 April 2016
Milestones

Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.