Monday workshop!

Alright, today is the workshop day for your new Wikipedia article. Remember, there are tech issues involved that will prevent you from being successful at this if you don't start yesterday!

Make sure you are registered and at least start your article by the end of the day. I know you all are well beyond this... but just in case :-)

Before turning you loose (I will be there to help in any way) we will also discuss:

• Good Wikipedia articles
• Featured Wikipedia articles
• anything else you want to ask or share re: this project

New Wikipedia topics

Today we will be working in groups, and I want you to spend time making suggestions for each other. This is your chance to brainstorm your new topic with your peers, and myself, as I will wander amongst the groups.

In order to do this you'll need to have a decent idea about what you want in your topic. Before we get into groups please put up a post with a brief description of your topic.

In groups we will make comments on your blog posts on three specific ares:

1. Which of the ten wiki-mandments should be most closely followed for your topic.
2. What expectations do we have for "research" on this topic. What kinds of evidence does this topic demand? An article on Nintendo will require different kinds of evidence than an article on the French Revolution, or HDTV.
3. What specific information would you expect from this article? For example, if there was an article on the natural history museum at the U, I would expect a timeline, list of exhibits, research interests, etc.
4. (optional) any helpful tips for the author?

So your response in the comments should be a list, 1.,2.,3. addressing the items above.

Happy Monday!

Alrighty, today we will be making sure everyone is on track for their Wiki-work and answering any questions regarding what's due.

Also, time permitting we will talk about professional on-line work and even a few insider secrets.

Possible topics:

• About.com
  
• SEO
• Engadget vs. Gizmodo
  
• Syndication/RSS
  
• Monetization: Advertising, Sprinks/adsense, Affiliates
• Penny-Arcade, Google, DealSea

as well as any questions you may have

More helpful guidelines

Here are some more helpful links to guide you in your Wikipedia editing.

• Wikipedia policies and guidelines
• Wikipedia basic rules to follow
• Wikpedia guidelines, useful things to consider
• Wikipedia featured articles: see what a good Wikipedia article looks like

Last-leg schedule

Just as a heads up, here is how I see the rest of our schedule working out.

• Week 12 March 24, 26 - Minor wiki edit due
• Week 13 March 31, April 2 - Major wiki edit due (major points!), new wiki topic idea due
• Week 14 April 7, 9 - New wiki post due (first draft on the 9th, final draft on the 14th)
  
• Week 15 April 14, 16 - Writing fiction
• Week 16 April 21, 23 - First draft of fiction due
• Week 17 April 28, 30 Finals Week - Final version of fiction due

10 Wiki-mandments

Here are your Wiki-mandements for this section:

1. Correct grammar and spelling, correct problems you see
2. References, where did you get this information from?
1. cite sources within text, i.e. foot/endnotes
2. Sources that are personal opinions/blogs are not 'reliable' sources - information not opinions should be cited, use quality sources
3. Links to other pages of relevance/references/wikipedia articles
   
4. Keep the post and pictures on topic, be careful about copyrights
   
5. Read what other people have posted, do not contradict rather correct, read the history, don't repeat mistakes
6. Keep a neutral point of view
7. Avoid using "jargony" words, or define if necessary
8. NO ORIGINAL RESEARCH!!!
9. Wikipedia is not a place for personal gain, not a soapbox/advertising forum
10. Wikipedia is not a social network, not for personal information
11. Wikipedia is not a dictionary, definitions can happen in the context of an article, but should not be articles

optional commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other wikis before the Wikipedia
2. Thou shalt not covet other's great articles
   

On your mark(s), get set...

Today we will discuss your commandments in groups, pick our favorites, and see if we can come up with a class list of Wiki-mandments (ugh, so cheesy, I know).Then we are off to the races.

For Wednesday create a post with the entry you are editing (notice the present tense) and try your hand at it. We will share experiences, articles, and tips on how to edit the Wikipedia on Wednesday. So, please not only have your article picked, but start editing it.

As a requirement, see if you can bring "research" to the Wikipedia article, as opposed to just editing the current text. What can you contribute at this point?

In your post briefly blog about the experience, along with the link to both the article, and a history page of your edits. We will use this as a jumping off point for our conversation.

Wednesday will be all about works in progress, so be sure to get a jump on that editing!

Wiki Rules

Today we will be discussing a recent wiki-controversy, as outlined in the previous post, and taking a look at the articles you found and want to talk about.

We also will be moving forward on our own writing from research. In order to do this, we need to set forth some ground rules. The Wikipedia has its own set of guidelines, but many of the most important seem to be unspoken.

For the Monday after break, I want you to create a list of 10 Wikipedia commandments. After reading their guidelines, and a few Wikipedia entries (any topic will due, so long as it has seen several authors hands) you should start to notice what some of them are. Many of them become explicit when you read the discussion sections of an article, and some are more "organic."

Please, as much as possible, find example for your commandments. Perhaps this is best done through links. I also want you to feel free to write commandments that you think ought to be followed, even if you don't see them currently enacted in the community. Thus, a couple of your commandments might be suggestions for improvement, rather than current standards.

Finally, be prepared to talk about how these rules provide "good research." What in the world is good research anyway?

So, for the monday after break (aka Sunday 10pm) have two posts. First, the article you wish to edit, and some thoughts on those edits, second a list of 10 wiki-mandments.

Chris Benoit - Wrestling With the Wikipedia

The video above, and articles below are not only fascinating, but also point to one of the missing pieces of the Wikipedia vs. Encyclopedia vs. Knowledge debates... the real time (or future-time) synopsis of events that otherwise would not be written about (or at least not in this format).

• Chris Benoit Wikipeida Article
• The Wikipedia Controversy

Does this at all challenge what we have spoken about in regards to the Wikipedia? Does this make it more or less a reliable source of knowledge?On a related note, the public mourning and memorializing of the Benoits is something that could only happen in a Web 2.0 world.

• Nancy Benoit Tribute
• Chris Benoit Tribute

Catsup

Today we will cover the content that we missed from the previous class session:

• Research+Community
• Truth in Numbers

Wikipedia = Research+Community?

We've picked apart knowledge and research quite a bit. We've discovered that it is contextual, that it is constructed, and that it attempts to be persuasive. We've also hinted that it is communal. That is what we are going to explore next.

Today I want you to take a few minutes to find a Wikipedia article that you a) find interesting and b) know quite a bit about.

We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of said articles together in class.

For Monday you will need to post a link to that article (or a new one of your choosing) along with a plan to update it. We will go over them together in class... I think you can see where this is headed.

Also you must read (whole page + interesting links): About the Wikipedia

• London Bombing Time Lapse (1:42)
• London Bombing Article Today
• Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica
• Nature on the Wikipedia: Accurate?
• Debates on the Wikipedia
• Hacking the Wikipedia
• Got any others we should look at? Post 'em in the comments

The Research Process / Collecting Sources

Our next project is a research essay. Research is an inherently political activity... wait what exactly do I mean by that?

Let's take a look at some traditional notions of what a research paper should be:

Writing the research paper

• OWL
• Bedford

Now, what is research online? And I'm still confused by what I mean about research being an inherently political act.

The heart of a research paper (we'll get to topics vs. thesis later, I promise) is the research itself. So, what is research and how does it differ from this thing I hear about called sources?

Speaking of sources, let's talk about them for a bit.

Sources:

• Traditional sources
• Online sources
• Non-traditional sources
• Science and the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test

For Thursday I want you to post a "card" from four sources:

• One from a "traditional" sources
• One from an academic journal
• One from an online source
• One from a non-traditional source
  

In this digital era, how shall we do citations? There are some traditions which have developed methods to cite web pages and the like... but that is adaptation, not invention. What is important to you in a citation?