Unit 3 Blog

During our time going through unit three, we learned a lot about wikipedia and mostly everything there is to know about editing, rules, etc. throughout the multiple training exercises done in training. We first learned about how to edit wikipedia pages and how to find reliable sources, make drafts, add images, make your work a little better, etc. which was very helpful to write a new, effective wikipedia page, or make changes/add information in an already published page.  Another important part we learned in this section was how to evaluate wikipedia and specifically what it is used for. We learned a lot about it, such as knowing wikipedia has a neutral point of view, meaning there should be no debate or trying to influence readers or sharing personal experiences/opinions. Another important thing to know is that wikipedia is free content, so you need to make sure everything you put on there is actually okay to put there. It is very important to not plagiarize because it could also be a copyright violation which is not a good thing to do. One other thing that is important when using an editing wikipedia is by interacting with each other in a respectful and civil manner. Try to avoid personal attacks, and instead try to come to a consensus with the person you disagree with. Our next step was actually signing up for a wikipedia account and getting a first hand look at what we would really be doing on the site. After these basics were done, it was time for us to pick a topic that we were interested in and thought we could make a contribution to. Finding reliable sources is very crucial in making an effective wikipedia page that people can look at and trust. For that reason, our next job was to find three to five scholarly sources so we knew that the information we were inserting was credible and reliable. After completing the trainings and learning how to find sources, our next step was to learn about adding citations, plagiarism, and how to draft in the sandbox section in the wikipedia editing page. All in all, I think that the exercises and trainings that were done really helped make it clear as to what we were able to do and not able to do in order to add reliable and credible information that readers can trust.