Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments, Spring 2020/Schedule
| CRN 26149 | nmac 5108.01 | online | Spring 2020 |
 | TL;DR: This schedule is tentative and subject to change. This is a digital document; do not print. Students are responsible for getting updates. |
This schedule represents the ideal outline for our study this semester. Yet, like all best-laid plans, we may not be able to keep up with our agenda. Please be flexible and try to look and read ahead whenever possible.
We will do our best to stick by this schedule, but I will inform you verbally, via an email, and/or a literal change to the schedule below whenever there is a deviation. Getting these updates is solely your responsibility. Therefore, this schedule is tentative and subject to change contingent upon the needs of the students and the professor, and dictated by time and other constraints which may affect the course. For face-to-face classes, this schedule reflects only an overview of the assigned reading and other major course assignments. It may not indicate specific class session assignments or activities. Specific in-class assignments may not be reflected on the schedule.
 | By creating your Wikipedia account, signing up for the class on Wiki Education, and writing your first log post (see below), you have officially begun the course. Failing to take these crucial steps before the end of the first week will result in your being reported as a “no-show” to the Registrar and dropped from the course. |
Before beginning your work each week, read through the whole lesson so you know what to expect and understand what’s expected. Each tab corresponds to a week of study. All assignments are contained therein. Any questions should be posted to the class help page.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
01/08–01/15: Introduction
At the end of this lesson, everyone should have a Wikipedia account, linked it to WikiEdu, and learned the basics of editing Wikipedia and writing for the screen.[1] There’s quite a bit of introductory material, so working some everyday over the course of the next week would be a good way to approach it. Remember to take notes and bookmark helpful pages so you can come back to them and refer to them on your log posts.
Read
- “Writing Top Ten”;
- Carroll, chapters 1 and 2;
- “A Primer for Newcomers”;
- “Introduction to Talk Pages”;
- Editing Wikipedia (pp. 1-5);
- Evaluating Wikipedia.
Do
Get Started on Wikipedia: Create an account on Wikipedia[2] and join the course page (you must use this link as it contains an enrollment key); Wikipedia Training: Wikipedia Policies and Sandboxes, Talk Pages, and Watchlists.
Write
First log posts. Edit your user page and write a short bio and maybe post a photo. Post your initial log entry on your own talk page and say hello to a fellow classmate or two on their talk page.
Comments
You might be reluctant or intimidated at first to dive into editing Wikipedia. Don’t be. Remember to be bold. There’s nothing that can’t be fixed, and you really only learn by doing. Just breathe and remember that every edit is reversible, so don’t let a bit of stress paralyze you. Please remember to preview your changes before committing them and mark small corrections as “minor edits.” This practice will allow you to see any potential errors before saving.
Welcome to the course. Remember, I’m available anytime via email or on the help page for assistance. Also, WikiEdu offers the assistance of a Wikipedia expert, so you may consult her, too, and we have an MGA 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! If you need a Skype meeting, just ask. If you get confused, just ask. I’m here to help you. I’m looking forward to collaborating with you this term.
 | Tip: Remember to breathe. This schedule is a bit overwhelming at first, but just relax. If you run into trouble, you can always get additional assistance on the class help page. That said, be patient, read carefully, and do not get frustrated. Just keep trying. 😀 |
Notes
- ↑ You might want to take some time and go through “Contributing to Wikipedia,” especially if you are entirely new to editing on the platform. I also have written two wiki primers, “Writing on a Wiki” and “Wikipedia Article Improvement,” that could also be of assistance.
- ↑ You might want to have a read-through of Setting up your account and personal workspace before just jumping to account creation.
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