Hello, I'm "Crtew" and I have joined the Ambassador Program as an instructor. Here, I'm keeping a portfolio of the outreach program with my course. Please feel free to read about our project or leave comments on my talk.

Introduction

The University of Southern Indiana offers a course that partners with Wikipedia's Ambassadors Program ( WP:USEDU). The course is "Introduction of Mass Communication", and it has been offered through WP:USEDU in both the (Fall 2011) & (Spring 2012). Prior to partnering with Wikipedia, the instructor had assigned an essay to students in which they documented journalists who had been reported to have been killed while on assignment and used such source sites as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, or International Federation of Journalists as a starting point. Students were to capture the context of the the significance (notability, in encyclopedic terminology) of either the journalist or the incident as well as provide context. These were the perameters of the assignment when in the fall 2011 semester, the instructor moved the assignment from paper to Wikipedia. The instructor intends to use this space to evaluate the relationship between the class project and Wikipedia and the WikiMedia Foundation (through their Outreach Program) as we work on this mutually beneficial collaboration.

Project

Course: Introduction to Mass Communication (Fall 2011 & Spring 2012)

Goals:

  • To expand the coverage on Wikipedia of journalists who have been killed while on a reporting assignment or for their journalism.
    • We will bring coverage to the journalists who have been most recently (up to Jan. 2012) reported to have been killed on assignment by CPJ, RSF and IFJ sources.
    • We will significantly expand the number of local journalists killed in their home countries as they are less likely to have an article created in Wikipedia or receive "mainstream" coverage in proportion to the foreign journalists killed on assignment. The challenge in some local cases is to meet the "Significant Coverage" criteria that would be used to initiate or defend a journalist's biography for inclusion.
  • To use the resources of organizations that are devoted to the safety of jounalists and to freedom of press, as well as other quality verifiable and reliable sources, and communicate those results through an encyclopedic form.
    • Several organizations already confirm and communicate that a journalist has been killed on assignment.
    • In addition, the United Nations and UNESCO regularly produce statements about these journalists.
    • The killing of journalists is also covered by the international/national and local press.
    • Teach students how to use different sources and verify information and evaluate their sources for reliability.
  • To be an engaged classroom where service and learning are combined.
    • We will create over -n- articles that were not previously available through Wikipedia.
    • We will write in the encyclopedic form and make relevant links to other articles in Wikipedia.
    • We will develop articles beyond "start" status.
  • We will offer a transparent assessment of our overall project.
    • We will self-assess our work in the sandbox area before moving the content on Wikpedia.
    • We will submit our work for review and assessment to the Wikipedia community.
    • We will report the findings after completion of the final and resubmission.


Expand Coverage

What existed before?

Did we have an impact on expanding the diversity of coverage on Wikipedia?


Use Credible Sources / Produce Quality Articles

Are students using information literacy skills to evaluate the credibility of their sources? We want to identify the most reliable sources!

Are students creating a fair and balanced presentation of the journalists and their situations and (adopting a Neutral Point of View in encyclopedic terms)?


Results

All of the metrics of our project will go here.


Assessment

How did we do on quality?

Wikipedia currently uses the following guidelines in article assessment.

Following the path to quality that Wikipedia has laid out, students will start an article, develop it beyond the stub stage, and submit it to the peer review process.

The end goal of Wikipedia it to create quality that will raise a larger proportion of articles to featured status.


Process

  • Students were assigned a journalists identified by CPJ, RSF or IFJ.
  • A template/outline guided their research and writing.
  • Students conducted research on the journalists using the above organizations, United Nations/Unesco, and news sources.
  • Students wrote their articles.
    • 1: Write a good lead.
    • 2: How did the journalist die?
    • 3: What context does the reader have to know to understand the situation?
    • 4. Why is this journalist important?
    • 5. What do you know about their career or personal life?
    • 6. What kind of internal and external links showcase this journalist's contribution?
    • 7. Thoroughly cite your high-quality references througout.
  • Students then created the sandbox in their accounts and converted their articles into the Wiki environment.
  • Using the course rubric, we conducted a self evaluation.
  • Revision.
  • The articles were moved from the sandbox to Wikipedia.
  • We submitted the entries to the Wikipedia peer review.
  • After action evaluation.


Resources