Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2008

I've decided to hijack this section for my own personal area of self-reflection.

My father once said that every one has a right to carry around their own personal bucket of fecal matter (teachers are limited on the word choices here). We have a right to crawl into the bucket and splash around, sling waste on the walls, or dive head first into it. The only rules are: Do not drown yourself while in the bucket, do not sling your fecal matter on others who may be nearby, only fools climb in the bucket with you, and most importantly - when crawling out leave all its contents in the bucket. Maybe this section will be my bucket.

• On picking user names: My goal was for them to seek out names that reflected creativity and originality. Something clever perhaps. However, having reviewed the class list -- apparently I'm not clever enough to figure out their meanings. I've asked them "why this name or that". The primary response is "All the good ones were taken". So here are three good choices. [Thatonestaken] [Nonamesleft] or [Goodnamesareallgone]. Apparently the very definition of originality was lost in translation. Perhaps they looked at my name "JimmyButler" and used it as a standard. In the future I may give them a list of names; BIO1, BIO2, BIO3.

There is also the problem of sorting out their user names from wikipedia and their real names in class. I look at them and instead of thinking Alexis - my brain comes up with Yomomma.--JimmyButler (talk) 16:51, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• On creating userpages: The plan was to have the students develop the user page as a way of breaking the ice on Wikipedia. Their first edits in a place with the least risk of damage. A little confidence building and understanding of html codes, or how to use the tool bar ... that sorta thing. What they learned was how to plagiarize using the copy/paste tool. I couldn't help but notice that nearly every page is identical, each a copy/paste job from a friend's page who copy/pasted a friends. Most didn't bother to change the links --- still linking to the original user's talk page. To their credit, the first one to copy the user page picked a really good one.

With time, the pages are morphing into something of individual expression, especially in the selection of userboxes. Which in way of defense, was intended to add a bit of fun to the project - a way of personal expression. The userbox is a window to their soul .... ok ... that's a little over the top - but at least I know who they are voting for. --JimmyButler (talk) 19:32, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Free advise to self. Generate a topic list. The idea that they would be like kids in the candy store didn't pan out. It was more like showing them a huge display of assorted guns and asking them which one they wanted to be shot in the head with. Clearly, the majority of them would have spent months before committing if I had not moved forward on the dead-line. I still suspect there will be a few who will jump around from topic to topic before this is over. At the very least generate a thematic list; such as birds of North America or genital parasites. I was hoping they would adopt an article that they were passionate about. Brain Farts ... what does that tell you?

A few bright spots. One student adopted an article on barrier island horses who is passionate about the beast. Another is now an expert on a medical disorder of which they personally suffer. If nothing else, I will broaden my horizons as I monitor their progress.--JimmyButler (talk) 06:24, 21 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• On separating Fact from Fiction - the 40 references. "If it is print - it must be true"; especially if it is on the internet. After this exercise, all of them have walked away with a deeper appreciation of what constitutes a good references. Blogs - bad. Professional Journals - Good. I've come to the conclusion that the Google Page Ranking system determines "truth" in America The willingness to list what to me were obvious "fringe" references came as no surprise. Consider my colleagues... highly educated people from whom I receive a steady stream of forwarded "truths" - especially on political issues. Did you know Obama is a homosexual, Iranian terrorist who sat out the Vietnam War in Canada, smoking dope and listening to Jimi Hendrix. - It is true - I read it on the internet. Hopefully, my students have a greater understanding of the powers and perils of the internet. --JimmyButler (talk) 15:42, 1 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• On Bill Gates and his Copy/Paste contribution to the World : Over the last 25 years I have graded hundreds of student “research papers”; a task that eats up enormous amounts of my personal time. All too often, it is readily apparent that the papers are merely the product of MS Word – Copy/Paste – Internet. My personal favorites are the ones that are clones of Wikipedia articles, with minor edits, such as “enormous” to “big”, in an effort to fly under the radar of “Turitin.com”. The term, “I worked hard on this project” translates to “I was up all night, copying and pasting off the internet”. For obvious reasons; this project changed all of that. For one, it’s difficult to copy/paste Wikipedia into your research – if Wikipedia is your research (although in one case – the student was using a mirror site of their Wikipedia article as a source of information – caught in a bizarre loop of information editing!). In the end - at least for Semester 1 – did we benefit from this project? I’m deep in the aforementioned bucket at the moment – nearly drowning in the excrement – so it may be best that I crawl out and reflect on this at a later time? Call it procrastination, a word that has taken on a whole new meaning in my tiny little niche in the world of academia.--JimmyButler (talk) 13:49, 9 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• On GA attempt: Like Lemmings off a cliff; one had to jump before the rest would follow. What we have now is "mass suicide! --JimmyButler (talk) 13:57, 9 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• Last Dip in the Bucket:

It has been awhile since I've splashed in my bucket. One of the perks of working two full time jobs - not much time for self pity. Also, not much time for closure on a project that has been the most inspirational and frustrating undertaking of my teaching career. Frustrating in that so many students saw it as an obstacle, an intrusion into their personal space. Those that log their 90 min of class time, then not another thought of the course until the next day, did not fair well. Rewarding, in that those that rose up - did so in a glorious fashion.

The class started with 28 students, with 14 dropping the first semester; in part, because they were not up to the Wikipedia challenge. Such attrition rates could lead to insufficient enrollment and a loss of the course from the school's curriculum. Research papers alone serve as a deterrent to many; a paper which can not be copy/pasted from the internet served as an even more intimidating barrier. In the end - natural selection played its role - the weak were eliminated while the strong were rewarded.

The academic gains and understanding of real research were priceless. The importance of collaboration and the skills to navigate through the myriad of personalities provided insight into the reality of the work place. The satisfaction of completing a project with real-world value, trumped the traditional attitude of "its all about the grade".

Will I do it again? Likely not. This project is far more suited to a new teacher; one that can commit the time and still possesses the energy and enthusiasm to lead the charge. I fell short on the task. Close monitoring and collaboration by the teacher could / would have made this project spectacular. If not for the community support - we would have gone down in flames. A better organized and structured approach at this end - to monitor student efforts and provide greater guidance and encouragement - was needed. I often found myself shooting from the hip. Hopefully, I can inspire our English department to take up the torch. A phenomenal husband / wife team not yet beat up and burned out from 26 years of teaching and now an additional seven hours a day teaching Drivers Ed. Their high energy input combined with the amazing support of the Wikipedia community would take this to a whole new level. As for me - the torch is starting to sputter. --JimmyButler (talk) 14:36, 14 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]