Talk:Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments, Spring 2019

April 8, 2019

How’s everyone doing? I know many of you have been working hard, and I thank you. I hope you are finding this process more rewarding and less stressful as you continue to get better with writing on the wiki.

I wanted to clarify this week’s assignment. The idea is two-fold: to take a step back from your own work and see what others are doing on Wikipedia and PM. Evaluate it objectively. Then consider at others’ evaluations and respond. You might begin by outlining on your journal just what it is you’ve been up to. I’m fine with these critiques being informal discussions. What are your colleagues doing well? What do they need to work on? You can be nice, but be critical. Our goal here is to get better. I’ll be playing along, too. —Grlucas (talk) 18:09, 8 April 2019 (EDT)

April 2, 2019

Wikipedians, please please please do not post any copyrighted materials on Wikipedia, including articles, letters, etc. Work on them in your sandbox on PM — not on Wikipedia. Thanks.

As a couple of students pointed out — some of your recent training on WikiEdu references assignments that you are not responsible for' in this class. I wanted you to take the training as there are aspects of it that will help you, but not all of it is applicable. I'm sorry for any confusion.

I appreciate all the hard work you’re doing. Remember, too, that I’m somewhat flexible on due dates, so even if you missed doing something, don’t think you any work you do will not be considered in evaluations (see my notice from yesterday).

Finally, any additional work you complete on Wikipedia — like editing an article that interests you, I will consider as extra credit. —Grlucas (talk) 08:54, 2 April 2019 (EDT)

April 1, 2019

Welcome to April and the last few weeks of the course. Where do we stand?

You should have made your edits to Norris Church Mailer adding references from the Google drive, have established your account and written your bio on Project Mailer, and chosen your project for AAD Letters or, more generally, AAD Expanded. I have recorded grades for these assignments this morning, so if you are missing any of these, please communicate with me.

Keep up the good work, and if you are a bit behind, there is still an opportunity to catch up. —Grlucas (talk) 12:17, 1 April 2019 (EDT)

March 28, 2019

I have received a couple of questions about the writing assignment fr this week, so I’d like to clarify: as a class, you all will be significantly rewriting the Wikipedia entry for Norris Church Mailer using all of the additional references that I made available to you on the shared drive. This is not an essay, but an actual edit of a Wikipedia article. Exciting, huh? I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Be sure to PREVIEW before you publish. Since this is real (not a drill) edit, your alterations should be perfect: well-written, revised, sourced, and error-free. —Grlucas (talk) 14:49, 28 March 2019 (EDT)

Oh, and it you're working on your essays from week two (due week six), you should be doing that on your sandbox on PM — not on Wikipedia. Remember, this is copyrighted material, so putting it on Wikipedia might get you into trouble (doubtful, but you never know). —Grlucas (talk) 14:54, 28 March 2019 (EDT)

March 27, 2019

I added more To-Dos for potential projects on PM. If you have not done so, see the NMAC 5108 Help forum. We have had some good questions and hopefully similar answers and clarification over the last couple of days.

If you have been having difficulty with your permissions for your essay, you may choose an essay from a volume of The Mailer Review that has to do with AAD to post later, though you should still have chosen an essay from the shared drive as directed in week 2.

March 25, 2019

Folks, remember you have a help page on Wikipedia for all of your questions. Post questions there so I can answer them for everyone. Please do not be confused. There is no such thing as a dumb question. I am here to help!

Also, I have added to do lists to the talk pages of:

These should give you ideas for your projects. Post your questions and ides on their talk pages. —Grlucas (talk) 12:54, 25 March 2019 (EDT)

March 24, 2019

Hello, Wikipedians, and welcome back. I want to congratulate a couple of you for securing the permissions to post your essays. Well done. I’ve been seeing quite a bit of work on Wikipedia for the first two weeks, and I just wanted to make some general comments.

First, keep practicing. Every. Day. It will only get easier as you develop your literacy. You cannot do this if you’re constantly having to reeducate yourself on the basics. The goal is to gain an operational fluency of Wikipedia by the end of class. You should also be incorporating what you learn in your reading, e.g., Carroll, in your writing.

Keep up on your WikiEdu training. You should have four modules complete. I see most of you have. Likewise, keep up on your journal posts — have at least two a week. This is the best place to practice your Wiki and writing skills. Remember to comment on others’ posts using the Wikipedia talk page guidelines, particularly those outlined in Help:Talk pages.

Thank you all for the excellent additions in your first discussion post. There is some good information that's well-sourced. However, the page, frankly, is a mess. These discussions should also use talk page conventions. If references are done correctly they should all be in a single References location at the bottom of the page. Remember, you are not writing essays here, but having a conversation. Be more succinct and interactive; remember you are collaborating — that is the nature of writing on a wiki — it’s an entirely new ethos. Be sure to view the page before publishing so you can correct all of your typos. A couple of typos are fine, but many of you just left incorrectly formatted wiki code, and that is unacceptable. Do not cross out text, ~~like this~~; just edit it. These conversations should reflect your professionalism, please. I know you all are experts — all of your work should reflect that.

Everyone should have an account on the Project Mailer wiki by this point. Once you are able to login, please post a short bio of yourself on your user page — mostly so I know you are able to login. You should add [[Category:Student Editors]] at the bottom. Review what I have so far about our PM project on An American Dream Expanded and feel free to begin commenting and making suggestions. I have worked on this a bit during the break, so spend some time seeing what I have done. I’ll post more about this over the next few days.

I’m looking forward to our next few weeks of work! I hope you are, too. —Grlucas (talk) 11:35, 24 March 2019 (EDT)

March 19, 2019

OK, so the email system on Project Mailer was not working. So if you requested an account and did not receive an email — even one that asked you to reset your password (I sent these resets after I got the email working), then contact me to reset your password. As of today, I have made accounts for Dmcgonagill, JVbird, Mango Masala, and Namir Riptide. If you requested an account, and you’re not listed, let me know. If you haven’t requested an account, you should do so by following the instructions for our course project. Sorry for any inconvenience.

March 14, 2019

Some of you have been asking me about securing permissions for the essay assignment. It really is as easy as emailing the author — start with Google. For those who are dead, you should find someone who can tell you who the executor of the estate is, and he or she would be the one to contact. Try your best on this, and as long as you have a history of attempts to secure permission, we should be good. Essay selections:

Callaway: Hampton
McGonagill: Hollins
Smith: Abel
Vice: Gordon
Williams: Hassan

—Grlucas (talk) 12:34, 16 March 2019 (EDT)

March 11, 2019 (2)

I forgot to mention that we have a librarian available to help our class with both Wiki stuff and research, if necessary. Dana Casper is available for appointments. She is a great resource, so use her!

She has also made me aware of an upcoming webinar on editing Wikipedia on March 13: Women in Natural History Wikipedia Editing Workshop. This could be a great opportunity for you to learn and to practice your new-found editing skills. I strongly encourage you to attend if possible. —Grlucas (talk) 11:29, 11 March 2019 (EDT)

March 11, 2019

I neglected to link to “Writing on a Wiki” for your first lesson. While much of this information will likely be covered elsewhere, there are parts that could be of some benefit right now, like the helpful Wikipedia links at the bottom of the article.

Many of your have expressed your apprehension at editing Wikipedia. That’s OK. Just breathe and remember that every edit is reversible, so don’t let a bit of stress paralyze you. Also, Wikipedia encourages you to be bold in your edits. I think that’s good advice. Please remember to preview your changes before committing them. This practice will allow you to see any potential errors before saving.

Most of you have created and submitted your journals to my talk page. Well done. I have made a convenient list back on the syllabus. Remember to add your replies. —Grlucas (talk) 07:29, 11 March 2019 (EDT)

March 6, 2019

Welcome to the course. Remember, I’m available anytime via email for assistance. If you need a Skype meeting, just ask. If you get confused, just ask. I’m here to help you. I’µ looking forward to collaborating with you this term. —Grlucas (talk) 08:08, 6 March 2019 (EST)

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