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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Minneapolis Community and Technical College/Ecology (Spring 2023)

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Course name
Ecology
Institution
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Instructor
Nick Deacon
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Ecology
Course dates
2023-01-12 00:00:00 UTC – 2023-05-11 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
12


This course is the final course in our biology and environmental science majors' transfer pathway sequence. The course examines the interactions between living organisms and their physical, chemical, and biological environment. We explore ecological concepts at the level of organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems across the Earth. Topics include population structure and growth, species interactions, energy flow, nutrient cycling, and succession. We also learn about contemporary environmental change, evolutionary ecology, and conservation science. We give hands-on experience in designing experiments, data analysis and interpretation, and communication of results. The course includes four hours of required lab per week with extensive outdoor components including required field trips.

I would like the Wikipedia assignment to be used as a way for students to synthesize knowledge about an aspect of Ecology that will help them develop their own independent research proposal in the second half of the course. In the past I've had students design experiments without having much knowledge about a question so the Wikipedia assignment will allow them to build their own knowledge base for follow-up writing.

Student Assigned Reviewing
VetMedIsLife7 Community (ecology) Pollinator
MulberryBrie Pollinator Microbial ecology
Shrimperyy Tide pool Food loss and waste
Anonymouse0802 Microbial ecology Tide pool
Kboss99 Population ecology Desertification
Tvu27 Aquatic ecosystem Community (ecology)
Bosibori1 Desertification Microecology
Stans068 Limnology Aquatic ecosystem
Sorkhabi1234 Microecology Sustainability science
ByronOQ Food loss and waste Population Ecology
Ofrimpong1 Grassland Pollinator

Timeline

Week 2

Course meetings
Thursday, 26 January 2023
In class - 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:

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 3

Course meetings
Thursday, 2 February 2023
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
In class - Discussion

Week 4

Course meetings
Thursday, 9 February 2023
Assignment - Choose your article
In class - Discussion
Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Week 5

Course meetings
Thursday, 16 February 2023
Assignment - Make a small edit

Week 6

Course meetings
Thursday, 23 February 2023
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

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

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7

Course meetings
Thursday, 2 March 2023
Assignment - Peer review an article

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion
Milestones

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

Week 8

Course meetings
Thursday, 16 March 2023
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.

Week 9

Course meetings
Thursday, 23 March 2023
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 10

Course meetings
Thursday, 6 April 2023
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 11

Course meetings
Thursday, 13 April 2023
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!

Week 12

Course meetings
Thursday, 20 April 2023
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 - Original analytical paper

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.

Week 13

Course meetings
Thursday, 27 April 2023
Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.