This is a project involving an advanced Business English course in the full-time MA Business program at the University of Applied Sciences Mainz taught by Prof. Stephanie Swartz-Janat Makan in the Summer Semester 2011. While improving their academic and business related English vocabulary, they will be asked to contribute to Wikipedia, first by editing an article of their choice and then by creating a new article or expanding on an existing one. There will be individual as well as group contributions, and the final grade is based on a portfolio handed in at the end of the semester with proof of both off-line as well as on-line contributions. The project will take place over the course of 15 weeks and each assignment must be fulfilled within the given time period in order to receive credit.

The purpose of this project is to develop students' knowledge of English while at the same time fine-tuning their skills in academic writing and research through contributions to Wikipedia.

Students are to strengthen their ability to think critically and evaluate the reliability of sources; they will develop their analytical writing skills while, at the same time, gaining information and contributing their knowledge to a global audience; they will experience that others contributing to their work and hopefully continue to contribute to Wikipedia after the assignment has ended. Perhaps most importantly, students learn that they not only consume information but also help to create it. During the course of the assignment, they learn how to work in a collaborative environment and gain insights into the creative process of text writing on Wikipedia, thus developing essential skills in today's digital workplace.

Regular assignments, class discussion, vocabulary training, as well as one individually edited article and one collaboratively expanded or created article in an area of students’ choice in Wikipedia; individually conducted peer reviews.

The final grade is based on in-class participation and an individually submitted portfolio at the end of the semester documenting all contributions to Wikipedia, both off-line and on-line.

• Step One: students are to acquaint themselves with the Wikipedia:Five pillars and Wikipedia:EtiquetteThen students read diverse articles to familiarize themselves with style and format of Wikipedia and search for topics for potential article editing and creating own articles. The missing articles and requested articles lists can help students find areas for contributions.

• Step Two: students read through Wikipedia:Tutorial on how to register as well as format and edit Wikipedia articles. In addition, they should familiarize themselves with Wikipedia:Manual of Style for information on citing sources, etc.

They then create an own account and log in. For help, they can refer to the tutorial page again Wikipedia:Tutorial/Registration. Then they should create a user page. For tips on creating and using a user page, read user pages, as well as how to use your user space.

Students should not forget the importance of the name they choose for their pages. Some tips can be found on: Wikipedia:Namespace

• Step Three: students choose an existing article and edit it. For help on editing, they can refer to Tutorial/Editing
• Step Four: in a group of two or no more than three, students choose an already existing article and expand on it (1,500 words) or write their own article (1,500 words). For suggestions on articles, see above links. Please note that you should edit your article while logged in your personal account and don't copy copyrighted material (Plagiarism). Develop your contribution out of scientific literature but as your own piece of work.

For help on naming and writing an article, see: user space draft and Article wizard, naming conventions and starting a new page.

• Step Five: students choose an article or expanded article written by another group of students and write a peer review on it Wikipedia:User talk. For help see peer review and requests for feedback.
• Step Six: students put together contributions in an organized portfolio to hand in by a due date.

Remember that we are guests in Wikipedia and should behave accordingly. We also represent our university (this is a university project which is being followed on Wikipedia) and keep in mind what impression you want other Wikipedians to have of our institution. Failure to obey the rules and standards of Wikipedia may result in your expulsion from Wikipedia or even the exclusion of our university from Wikipedia as a whole.

Students should always view a preview of your page before saving and not forget to fill out the summary page. To experiment, they should create a Sandbox to their userpage but remember that drafts are deleted every 12 hours.

Remember: you do not “own” your page! Anyone can work on “your article”. And your page can be deleted by someone who finds it inappropriate or badly cited. So: make sure to save your work with a screen shot and print it out to be collected in your portfolio for your final grade! You can also put the words newpage at the beginning of your page so that other Wikipedians know it is a work in progress. The result looks like this: {{newpage}}

For more information see : deletion of newly created pages.

For formatting articles, students should refer to the following links: Wikipedia:Tutorial/Formatting as well as Wikipedia: Cheat sheet The cheat sheet is an excellant quick reference for help in the beginning!

Students are to create a talk page by following the instructions on Wikipedia:User talk. They are also expected to look out for messages every day. Please reply to the messages, even if only acknowledging the author’s feedback, on the other’s talk page so that they will be sure to receive the message. Always sign talk and discussion contributions. Changes made by others to articles can be found on the page history tool and the watchlist tools.

Students can first ask their instructor for assistance. As my knowledge is also limited, one can then refer to Wikipedia:Help desk. The Help live chat available on the help desk site is a very useful resource. For continous assistance see Wikipedia:Ambassadors for available mentors.

It is imperative that information is cited. Failure to do so can mean the disappearance of the page. Students are to familiarize themselves with the Manual of Style as well as the correct form for citation of sources in Wikipedia. citations quick reference is a valuable source of help in citing on Wikipedia.

Students should be aiming towards fulfilling the criteria of the Wikipedia Did You Know? section. For information on the selection criteria for DYK, see: DYK.

As this is a pilot project and this means that there will be unforeseen difficulties, students’ grades will weigh heavily on the effort put into the research, writing and peer reviews, both off-line and on-line. This must be documented by the individual student through a portfolio. Difficulties with the technology are not an excuse for lack of participation or failure to complete the assignment. Once more: remember to save your work through printing out and saving screen shots!

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