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one up - GA nomination !
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* None yet.
* None yet.


; Good article nominations:
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=== [[Image:Symbol b class.svg|14px]] B-class articles ===
*[[Osteochondritis dissecans]]
*[[Osteochondritis dissecans]]


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=== [[Image:Symbol b class.svg|14px]] B-class articles ===


=== Start class ===
=== Start class ===

Revision as of 22:06, 2 October 2008

File:Triceratops and nest.jpg
Triceratops and nest, artwork by Karen Carr


A high school class in North Carolina - Croatan High School in Newport, North Carolina - will contribute to Wikipedia until May 15, 2009. The collective goal is to write biology related articles and bring them up to featured article status (or, good articles status).

Feel free to discuss this project. The lead editor is User:JimmyButler. Please notify me of any concerns; especially if they involve the behavior of my students on Wikipedia. They are young (10th grade high school); yet, enthusiastic. With a little patience, this should be an inspirational experience for all.

Goals

  • To improve Wikipedia's coverage of selected articles in Biology, particularly those related to high school level biology.
  • To submit these articles to Wikipedia review processes, such as peer review, good article nominations and featured article candidates.
  • To increase the number of featured articles in this area.

News and Progress

A summary of how far we have come over the semester:

  • Just started (8/26/08)
  • Create Accounts (completed 8/29/08)
  • Create User Page with a bio, images, and a selection of user boxes (completed 9/5/08)
  • Selection of topic (biology theme). All topics must be approved by the instructor. (Completed 9/19/08)
  • Generate List of potential references. Post on the articles talk page with appropriate links. (Completed 9/26/08)
  • Insert one citation into an article using an acceptable template. Any article! (Due 10/3/08)

Templates

Please place this template on any article that is being worked on as part of this project. It will help the community identify the work carried out by AP Biology 2008. Simply copy and paste into the article's talk page somewhere near the top.

Articles and groups

  • None yet.

Template:GA-inline Good articles

  • None yet.
Good article nominations

B-class articles

Start class

Stub class

Planning and resources

Some information on planning and resources for the AP Biology 2008 Project.

Stages

  • Start. Get familiar with wikipedia. Make some trial edits, however minor. Demystify the process. Leave behind any sense of intimidation. As wikipedia puts it, learn to be bold. Learn basic editing skllls.
  • Plan. But minor edits alone won't get us much closer towards Feature Article status. We need to have a sense of what more needs to be done, and an overall plan for the article. Look at models and guidelines (e.g. guidelines for articles about novels) on how to write good and feature articles. What sections are required? What will be the article structure? What information is needed?
  • Share. We will need to divide up the tasks that we've identified in the planning stage. Who is going to do what and when?
  • Research. This is vital. A wikipedia article is worth nothing unless it comprises verified research, appropriated referenced. This will entail going to the library, as well as surfing the internet!
  • Assemble and copy-edit. As the referenced research is added to an article, we need to ensure that it does not become baggy and disorganized, though there will be moments when it is obviously in a transitional stage.
  • Informal Review. First, informal reviews among ourselves and consultation with members of the FA-Team.
  • Further Informal Review.

There's no precise order for everything. There's always the need for small, incremental change. But over the course of the project we're looking for radical change, in some cases seeking to create a feature article from scratch. So we need also to be methodical.

And it may turn out that not all articles will be submitted to Feature Article Review. But this should still be our goal!

NB see also what wikipedia has to say about article development.

Talk pages

Whenever you edit, make sure that you are signed in. Also, add four tildes ~~~~ to the end of all comments you make on talk pages. This will let people know who is talking.

Style guides

To get past the stumbling blocks of GA and FA, articles will have to conform to the Wikipedia style guides. The three largest barriers are:

Secondary style guide are specific to different projects. Articles must conform to these also. Conflict between any of these is inevitable and troublesome; editors simply have to work out conflicts through consensus.


Resources

Members

Mentors

My deepest appreciation to those who are willing to offer the students assistance on this AP Biology project. It is my intent for the students to be responsible for the lion's share of the content as well as the necessary citations. Formatting, writing style, general organization, and grammar are the areas in which guidance would be greatly appreciated. It's a fine line between assistance and enablement!! I personally like the idea creating a list of concerns and allowing the the students to address the problems. Admittedly I am shooting from the hip here --- but I'm confident a balance can be achieved that assures this is a learning process for the students and that they will feel a sense of accomplishment when the project ends.
I trust that the students will conduct themselves in an appropriate manner and at no time will their behavior be problematic. They do understand that their actions reflect on the class and school and they are being held accountable. Should any concerns arise, please contact me through the email option. I am very excited about the prospect of my students working with the brilliant and dedicated members of the Wikipedia community. This is an incredible learning opportunity for which I am most grateful. Please note, some of them are rather nervous and have considerable self-doubt. In time, they will overcome ... just a little patience! If you have adopted one of my lost souls; I will add your user name next to theirs on this page along with the topic. Cheers! --JimmyButler (talk) 23:47, 10 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Notes

Show at own risk.
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

I've decided to hijack this section for my own personal area of self-reflection.

My father once said that every one has a right to carry around their own personal bucket of fecal matter (teachers are limited on the word choices here). We have a right to crawl into the bucket and splash around, sling waste on the walls, or dive head first into it. The only rules are: Do not drown yourself while in the bucket, do not sling your fecal matter on others who may be near bye, only fools climb in the bucket with you, and most importantly - when crawling out leave all its contents in the bucket. Maybe this section will be my bucket.

  • On picking user names: My goal was for them to seek out names that reflected creativity and originality. Something clever perhaps. However, having reviewed the class list -- apparently I'm not clever enough to figure out their meanings. I've asked them "why this name or that". The primary response is "All the good ones were taken". So here are three good choices. [Thatonestaken] [Nonamesleft] or [Goodnamesareallgone]. Apparently the very definition of originality was lost in translation. Perhaps they looked at my name "JimmyButler" and used it as a standard. In the future I may give them a list of names; BIO1, BIO2, BIO3.
There is also the problem of sorting out their user names from wikipedia and their real names in class. I look at them and instead of thinking Alexis - my brain comes up with Yomomma.--JimmyButler (talk) 16:51, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • On creating userpages: The plan was to have the students develop the user page as a way of breaking the ice on Wikipedia. Their first edits in a place with the least risk of damage. A little confidence building and understanding of html codes, or how to use the tool bar ... that sorta thing. What they learned was how to plagiarize using the copy/paste tool. I couldn't help but notice that nearly every page is identical, each a copy/paste job from a friend's page who copy/pasted a friends. Most didn't bother to change the links --- still linking to the original user's talk page. To their credit, the first one to copy the user page picked a really good one.
With time, the pages are morphing into something of individual expression, especially in the selection of userboxes. Which in way of defense, was intended to add a bit of fun to the project - a way of personal expression. The userbox is a window to their soul .... ok ... that's a little over the top - but at least I know who they are voting for. --JimmyButler (talk) 19:32, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Free advise to self. Generate a topic list. The idea that they would be like kids in the candy store didn't pan out. It was more like showing them a huge display of assorted guns and asking them which one they wanted to be shot in the head with. Clearly, the majority of them would have spent months before committing if I had not moved forward on the dead-line. I still suspect there will be a few who will jump around from topic to topic before this is over. At the very least generate a thematic list; such as birds of North America or genital parasites. I was hoping they would adopt an article that they were passionate about. Brain Farts ... what does that tell you?
A few bright spots. One student adopted an article on barrier island horses who is passionate about the beast. Another is now an expert on a medical disorder of which they personally suffer. If nothing else, I will broaden my horizons as I monitor their progress.--JimmyButler (talk) 06:24, 21 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • On separating Fact from Fiction - the 40 references. "If it is print - it must be true"; especially if it is on the internet. After this exercise, all of them have walked away with a deeper appreciation of what constitutes a good references. Blogs - bad. Professional Journals - Good. I've come to the conclusion that the Google Page Ranking system determines "truth" in America The willingness to list what to me were obvious "fringe" references came as no surprise. Consider my colleagues... highly educated people from whom I receive a steady stream of forwarded "truths" - especially on political issues. Did you know Obama is a homosexual, Iranian terrorist who sat out the Vietnam War in Canada, smoking dope and listening to Jimi Hendrix. - It is true - I read it on the internet. Hopefully, my students have a greater understanding of the powers and perils of the internet. --JimmyButler (talk) 15:42, 1 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
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