The Educators wiki has a nice page entitled Wiki Etiquette for Students. Might be worth checking out as you work on your Wikipedia assignments and while browsing/using Wikipedia in general.
Course Weblog
Register Your Own Doman
Interesting post from Hack College (a blog targeted at college students that I highly recommend) on building your online identity and registering your own domain. I’ve generally followed this advice, but I’m not sure its for everyone? Has anyone else registered their own domains and set up their own websites?
Wikipedia, Crowd Wisdom, and Democracy
Interesting article on Wikipedia, et. al. and the democracy published in Slate magazine Feb. 22: “The Wisdom of the Chaperones: Digg, Wikipedia, and the myth of Web 2.0 democracy.” Might be food for thought as you work on your Wikipedia articles, and when you complete your evaluation of Wikipedia at the end of the semester.
Student Blogs and Facebook
I’ve created a list of all the students who have sent me their blog addresses. If your name is not on this list, it means I have not received your address. Please email me your blog address by Monday before class. Once I have everyone’s blog, I’ll organize this list into groups for writing comments.
I’ve also fixed the Facebook application that pulls the course website into Facebook. Feel free to add this application if you’re rather have access to this site there instead of visiting the site directly. The exact same information is available in both places. I’ll have no idea if you add it (it collections no personal information at all), and you’re not required to add me as a friend to use it. You’re not required to add this application, and its nothing fancy; Its simply another way to access course information. If you find it handy, or can think of ways to improve it, let me know!
Choosing a Wikipedia Topic
As you know, for your Wikipedia assignment you need to choose a topic that either does not already have a substantial page, or a topic deemed a “stub” article by Wikipedia. You can check out the US History stubs list on Wikipedia, or the general history stubs to find a topic. Remember that I still need to approve your topic before you begin work on it.
Hello!
Welcome to History 120! In our first class, I’ll go over the syllabus, and go over some of the online services we’ll be using throughout the course. By the next class, you’ll need to send me the following:
- Your WordPress.com blog address
- Your Wikipedia user name (not your password, keep that secret)
- Your Flickr account URL
I’ll go over how to create all of your accounts tonight.
Introduction
This course is designed as an introduction to the major themes and arguments in U.S. history broadly defined, and as an exploration of the ways in which history permeates our culture and society. The course does not emphasize or reward the memorization and regurgitation of historical facts, but instead encourages you to think critically and analytically about how history is constructed and presented in a variety of forms. This is not to say that historical facts are unimportant; they are very important. More important, however, are the choices made in determining which facts to present and the manner in which to present them.
By the end of this course, you should:
- become familiar with major debates and topics related to the history of the United States.
- learn to read and analyze primary and secondary sources in a variety of forms.
- learn to construct and critique arguments.
- become familiar with a variety of ways to publish information online.