Who knew I would be so anxious to take on editing a Wikipedia page? I sure did not expect to feel the way I did, but after some trials and tribulation, I think I managed.
First, let me start by saying I love Wikipedia but also find it to be incredibly daunting. When I started this class and looked through the syllabus, I was not quite sure how to feel when I saw this assignment listed. How in the world was I supposed to find a Wikipedia page that needed updated or edited? It just did not sound plausible to me, and I am not sure why. I knew that Wikipedia hosts many underdeveloped pages, and I also knew that Wikipedia editors can be a bit harsh. Would the editors delete my entry? Would they shame me away? Do they know I am just a college student editing for a project? Those are the questions that went through my mind. Since I just completed the edit, I found now to be an appropriate time to talk through my experience and how the process went for me.
If I have one piece of advice to others going in blind to this project, it is to complete the tutorials assigned to you. While our professor said they are not graded, do not take that as a free pass to skip them. I found the tutorials to be more than helpful during this project. They walk you through how to set up your page, navigate the talk and sandbox pages, and more. If it wasn’t for those short assignments I would have not known where to start. While it seems like they are never ending, they only last at most 15 minutes, and are full of useful information such as avoiding plagiarism, and how to properly cite your sources. This was the make-or-break to me! I needed those tutorials to help make this process successful.
Now one of the most difficult areas for me was finding an article to edit. I looked through the list of underdeveloped articles, but nothing stood out to me, and I did not feel confident about taking on any of them. While I have stuck with a sports theme for me blogs, I originally thought I would do the same for this project, just to make everything seem cohesive. Sports also have a large following and an endless list of sources for me to choose from, but at the same time I did not feel motivated to take on a subject that potentially does not need edited, or one that I was unfamiliar with. So, with nothing tripping my trigger, it was time to move to plan B.
When I went back to the assignment page to look over the details once again, I came across Professor Roschke’s blog over her experience editing an article. I saw that she went to her former high school’s page and saw it was missing a decent amount of information, so I decided to check out my own Alma maters page, which is Davenport North High School. I saw that the page was missing a picture of the high school, had briefly mentioned its history, and the construction it underwent in 2001. There was also a subheading of athletics, where the editor added which sports the school currently has and basic information over which conference the school plays under. I thought it was weird that there was nothing about the academics offered, considering it is a 4A high school and has been around for 45 years now. That is where I decided that I shall tackle the beginnings of an Academics tab.
Before I started, I went to visit the pages of the other two main public high schools in the same district and compared the similarities and differences. Only one of the high schools hosted a tab over academics, while the other had a long list of notable alumni and an expanded section over their performing arts. I went back and forth over what to add, do I mention that arts programs or do I mention all of the AP Classes and dual enrollment programs? I went with the latter as this is what would work best for me. I knew what classes were available as I have friends who teach at the school and their website had them listed as well. I also knew that the dual enrollment program was still a running success as my cousin had just completed it a year prior. So, with that information I went forward to begin the editing process.
At first I was hesitant to make a move, but with Wikipedia’s helpful functions available I knew I would be able to view my work before publishing it. I first started by adding the new heading, which was Academics, followed by a sentence or two over the AP classes. I was able to link the classes to their designated wiki pages, which will be helpful to future readers who may want more information over what AP classes are and how to take them. I then added a brief mention to the dual enrollment opportunity that the district made available in 2014. The Dual Enrollment program offers certain students a chance to take college courses with their high school courses at no additional cost, and in the process it earns them an associates degree on top of their high school diploma. This is available at all three high schools yet I did not see it mentioned on their pages, so I thought it would be appropriate to mention under the new academics section.
In the end, I found this project to meet my expectations. It was not as daunting as I once imagined it would be, and it helped me become more well versed in media literacy. So, while I was nervous at first, with the help of the online tutorials I felt like I was able to go ahead and jump into becoming a wiki editor. Although I do have some newfound editing abilities, unless I am asked for an assignment, I do not see myself editing anything else in the future. I’ll leave that to the professionals.
Once again, here is the link to the profile I edited!
Good Luck to everyone else!
