Learning patterns/Use course pages to organize student assignments

Learning Pattern Library

Use course pages to organize student assignments

problemHow to keep course information organized in a central, public space so educators, volunteers and the community can identify student work?

solutionCreate a course page before the term begins.

creator• KHarold (WMF)

created on24 November, 2014

What problem does this solve?

Contributing to Wikimedia projects as part of a class means working with volunteers and community members outside of your institution. It is important that Wikimedia volunteers are able to identify student work and know how to access information about when students will be active and what they will be working on so that they can give timely, constructive feedback to the right people.

What is the solution?

A course page is a central, public space to share information about assignments with students, educators, Wikimedia volunteers and the community. It serves three primary purposes:

1. It lets the community know which content is being added or edited by students, and who to contact with feedback or concerns. Most new editors make mistakes. Being able to look at work from multiple users who are learning as a group can show whether the issues have to do with one or two students, or whether the whole group may not understand something.
2. It organizes student user names and articles in a central place, making evaluation less time consuming for educators and program leaders.
3. It is a central place for students to sign up for assignments, post drafts, and organize peer-review.

General considerations

All student assignments should be organized on a course page that includes:

• A list of user names for students participating in the assignment.
• Links to articles and pages where students will contribute content.
• A timeline that includes when students will start and finish on-wiki assignments.

Other recomended information:

• Links for students to review editing guidelines and find out where to get help.
• A description of the course and learning objectives.

The Education Extension will automatically create a course page.

See also

Education Toolkit Learning Pattern This learning pattern is part of the Education Program Toolkit. Go to the toolkit.

Related patterns

Using the Education Extension

Make it easy to identify student editors

Working constructively with the community

External links

Instructions and video for creating a course page using both templates and the course wizard.