User talk:Wangenra

Welcome[edit]

Hello, Wangenra, and welcome to Wikipedia! It appears you are a course instructor leading a class project.

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We hope you like it here and encourage you to stay after your assignment is finished! Valfontis (talk) 22:55, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to Wikipedia[edit]

Welcome!

Hello, Wangenra, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{helpme}} before the question. Again, welcome! tedder (talk) 04:26, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

March 2015[edit]

Hello, I'm Valfontis. An edit that you recently made to Aloha High School seemed to be a test and has been removed. If you want more practice editing, please use the sandbox. If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thanks! Valfontis (talk) 22:55, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The reliability of Wikipedia[edit]

Might I suggest to you to teach your kids that Wikipedia is useful in research, just not to cite it? Follow the references and cite them! It is problematic to cite any web source, because it can up and change on you, but Wikipedia especially can be useful to lead to solid sources. John from Idegon (talk) 19:32, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! That's exactly what I'm showing them. I first used one of their topics/questions to show them about the reference pages and how they're a useful research tool because the references are usually reliable sources of information. (We're also discussing bias, but that's another thing.) With regard to Wikipedia, I don't like them using it because it IS easy for anyone to go in and edit pages. I teach at Aloha High School, and have received permission from our principal, Ken Yarnell, to "edit" our page very briefly and then immediately change it back. That's why if you look at my history, I only use the AHS page (and why it's like 2-3 times within a two day period and again in a few months). They get a good giggle from my edit, but the point gets across about how they can use this site. I'm trying to direct them to our Gale databases that our district libraries have access to, but sometimes this is a good jumping off point, and is also useful for organization and research refinement. :) I'll probably do the same edit again in roughly an hour or so, and again next Wednesday around noon PT. Thanks!

Wangenra (talk) 19:45, 30 October 2015 (UTC)Becky Wangenheim[reply]

Hi, Becky. I don't know what you teach, but if it is English, it might be useful to plan at some point an exercise in writing a Wikipedia article. I am the coordinator of Wikiproject Schools and I see a lot of student edits. Very few understand that this is an entirely different kind of writing from an essay. As it must be encyclopedic, it must be tertiary, in other words, coming from something already published. They learn how to do essays, some learn how to do conclusive research papers, but very few know how to write in this unusual style. Just a thought. John from Idegon (talk) 22:16, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Ms. Wangenheim, I've gone ahead and blocked this account because of your stated intention above to do more disruptive editing. Your "good giggle" is considered vandalism. In the future, you might teach them to use Wikipedia only as a starting point for their research and take a look at any sources used in the article instead. Also, have you heard the expression "don't stick beans up your nose"? It means that showing students how easy it is to vandalize the project might encourage them to do so. I hope this explains. Valfontis (talk) 22:41, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding your statement above, I feel behooved to clarify one point: your principal does not have the authority to grant you permission to edit the article about the school; indeed, neither the school nor anyone in a position of authority at the school owns that article. More generally, no one owns anything here, and anyone may edit any article without any express permission to do so. However, they agree to do so per Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Thus, this preventative block was deemed necessary the by blocking administrator, as you state above that you intend to perform the same type of disruptive editing in the future. I am certain that withdrawing that statement would go a long way toward having your block lifted (you can use the {{unblock}} template to request that). I also believe, as an educator myself, that working with some of the editors who have commented here, such as at Wikipedia:WikiProject Schools as User:John from Idegon mentioned, would make the educational experience of editing Wikipedia in a constructive manner more meaningful to your students. --Kinu ^t/_c 23:24, 31 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

October 2015[edit]

Please refrain from making test edits in Wikipedia pages, such as those you made to Aloha High School, even if you intend to fix them later. Your edits do not appear to be constructive and have been reverted. If you would like to experiment again, please use the sandbox. Thank you. Valfontis (talk) 22:29, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Please stop making test edits to Wikipedia, as you did to Aloha High School. It is considered vandalism, which, under Wikipedia policy, can lead to being blocked from editing. If you would like to experiment again, please use the sandbox. Valfontis (talk) 22:31, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You have been blocked for one week from editing for persistent disruptive editing. If you think there are good reasons why you should be unblocked, you may appeal this block by first reading the guide to appealing blocks, then adding the following text below this notice: {{unblock|reason=Your reason here ~~~~}}. Valfontis (talk) 22:36, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Becky -- while your intent is good, intentional test edits to article space aren't permitted. I've made you a copy of the article at User:Wangenra/Aloha High School -- please agree to use that in the future, okay? NE Ent 23:16, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Message of support[edit]

Well, Ms Wangenheim, I for one support what you're doing, and have explained the reason why at the ongoing discussion of your block at the Administrators' Noticeboard, which you might want to review (you should have been notified of it).

For additional source material for this teaching point, you may find the following articles of interest:

Welcome to Wikipedia! Andreas JN 466 04:52, 1 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

@Jayen466: The thread with the link to the noticeboard discussion was deleted by consensus of all involved. I was remiss in not replacing a link to the discussion here, sorry. There is also a discussion on my talk page. Cheers, Valfontis (talk) 13:06, 1 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've unblocked. Carry on. Valfontis (talk) 16:22, 1 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Additional material for discussing Wikipedia[edit]

Hello. Efforts to educate classrooms in the use of Wikipedia interests me. I agree that students need to learn not to use Wikipedia as a source for their writings - although it can be useful to get a gereral outline of a subject and links to sources that they could use (in addition to other venue for finding sources).

If you're not already, an additional element to consider showing to students may be the "Disclaimers" link that appears at the bottom of every Wikipedia page, as it shows Wikipedia itself acknowledges the limitations of the content found on the site. That disclaimer has existed (with some changes in phrasing) as far back as 2003 - so it's not a new element - it's a limitation that has been long recognized and acknowledged. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 16:40, 1 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As well as the links provided by Andreas and Barek, the following may be of interest:

Citogenesis – xkcd comic explaining how Wikipedia vandalism may find its way into reliable sources

Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident – well-publicised case of Wikipedia vandalism

Essjay controversy – a trusted Wikipedian falsely claimed to be a tenured professor, and used this status to advance his position in content disputes on Wikipedia

Cheers, Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 00:55, 2 November 2015 (UTC) (a fellow teacher)[reply]

See also Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica NE Ent 01:08, 2 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Both that c|net article and the Nature "study" had some problems though: Wikipedia: as accurate as Britannica? Andreas JN 466 10:58, 4 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

November 2015[edit]

This is your only warning. You will be blocked from editing the next time you disruptively edit Wikipedia, as you did with this edit to Aloha High School. ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 20:18, 4 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Really???? Several of us took a considerable amount of time negotiating your unblocking. See Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive903#Please review this block of a teacher. I am without words. Oshwah, why don't you just reinstate the indef block she had? Geeez. John from Idegon (talk) 20:47, 4 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, I'M SO SORRY! I just now read through the entire WTF talk thread. I will no longer make edits outside of the sandbox. I just now figured out how to use it, as it's somewhat cumbersome to figure out with an explanation/walkthrough. I actually really appreciate the approach you took with me last week. Sincerely. The fact that you were able to identify who I was and considered sending me an email to work was probably along the right idea. When we're teaching, we don't have a ton of time to sit down and ready super long threads/conversations about what's going on, especially when people react immediately. Please know that I was in NO WAY encouraging my kids to go in and make edits, and actually explained to them how the references sections are a great place to check for primary or secondary resources outside of our school databases. I won't edit the primary page again, I'll use the sandbox (despite the fact that it does take away the "power" of the edit. Many thanks to you and Sarah for your suggestions and the way that you've handled this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wangera (talk • contribs)

In one of my prior real life real lives I was a high school math teacher -- totally get the time crunch! You might have noticed the school logo isn't in the sandbox version of the article -- unfortunately we have strict restrictions on use of copyrighted images. If you have a photo someone is willing to license for use it could be uploaded at [1]. NE Ent 00:10, 5 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]