Check out this story about a new supermarket that will be convenient for residents of the Farragut Houses: Wegmans is Welcomed at the Navy Yard. The proposed supermarket will be built at the corner of Flushing Avenue and Navy Street. If you explore the site in Google street view, you’ll see Admirals’ Row, formerly grand houses for Navy officers, now collapsing buildings in an urban forest. What do you think – should these historic buildings be preserved, or is a large, well-supplied supermarket a better way to use this land?

A few things to remember: the Farragut Houses Wikipedia article should contain content relevant to the Farragut Houses. Other information (NYCHA, Vinegar Hill, downtown Brooklyn, etc.) should appear in our OpenLab project site and should also appear in a Wikipedia article that is more relevant to that topic. Be sure that Wikipedia in-text references link to Wikipedia content. Use the RefToolbar to create references to to external sources. See Wikipedia Referencing help for more information.

On Wednesday, we meet in our usual classroom first, where everyone will have a chance to present their work on the Wikipedia article, the OpenLab project site, or both. We’ll move to A540 (library e-classroom) for the last hour where you can make any final edits to your work.

Keep up the great work – you’re almost there!

hi everyone,

Still no word from the Registrar’s office if we’ll be able to use G603 for future class meetings, so assume we’re in A432 on Wednesday 12/2 from 10-11:30. We can use A540 (the library’s computer classroom) from 11:30-12:35.

~Prof. L.

On Monday, November 30 we will meet in G603 for the entire class meeting. The room has computers so come prepared to make progress on your group’s contribution to the Wikipedia article or the OpenLab site.

Any images (photographs, sketches, maps) used in the Wikipedia article should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons first. Use your Wikipedia username & password to log in, then upload your files. Be aware that once your images are a part of Wikimedia Commons, it can be used by others in Wikipedia or elsewhere, depending on what license you assign to it.

This infographic explains what is permissible to upload:

Wikimedia Commons Licencing Tutorial

Enjoy the long weekend and holiday, everyone!

~Prof. L.

On Wednesday, November 18 our Wikipedia specialist, Prof. Ann Matsuuchi from LaGuardia Community College, will conduct a Wikipedia workshop on writing and editing articles and using the Sandbox and Talk pages. Please complete the student training before Wednesday’s class. For Monday, please write one blog post in response to the following:

What three questions do you have about researching, writing, and editing Wikipedia articles? Or, what three things do you most need to know before you begin to research, write, and edit?

I’ll start: How do I make an Infobox appear at the top right of an article, and what information should appear there?
How do I create a Table of Contents in an article, and how do I make the categories link to the content in the article?
How do I determine categories that appear in the table of contents?

~Prof. L.

In class we listened to a WNYC radio story on Farragut Houses and neighborhood change: Longtime Residents Witness Brooklyn Waterfront’s Changing Fortune. What did you think of the story?
On Monday, groups will present the five (minimum) sources they have chosen for the annotated bibliography. Feedback and discussion will help groups prepare the final version of the annotated bibliography, due Wednesday, 11/11. Each group should produce one annotated bibliography consisting of MLA-formatted citations and annotations for at least 5 information sources that reveal important information about your topic. Groups should consult the annotated bibliography guidelines or contact the instructors for clarification or further information. The OWL has an annotated bibliography guide, as well as an example.

There is a shortlink to our course site on WikiEdu: cityte.ch/nq. Don’t forget to log into Wikipedia and complete the student training if you have not already done so.

On Friday between 3-5 pm, Prof. Montgomery will lead a visit to the library at the Brooklyn Historical Society, a 5 minute walk from campus at 128 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. Bring your City Tech ID for free admission. You may take notes with pencil only, and photograph without using a flash.

Today in class everyone responded to the following questions:

1. Redefine your topic as narrowly as possible
2. What have you learned about the topic? Be sure you can document & cite sources.
3. What do you want to say about the topic?
4. What do you still need to do/know/research to accomplish #3?
5. What is your game plan?

Please post your responses to the blog in advance of our next class.

On Monday, November 2 we visit the Farragut Houses, this time with a NYCHA representative. Meet at the usual place and time – 10 a.m. at the corner of Plymouth & Hudson. Remember your phones/cameras, and notebooks and sketchbooks.

Site report #3 (NYPL map collection) is due today; site report #4 (Brooklyn Collection) is due next Wednesday, November 4.

The NYPL Map Warper (maps.nypl.org/warper) allows us to digitally align historic maps with the contemporary street grid, enabling a comparison of information from historic maps with that from a current map. Rectified maps are digitized historic maps that have been digitally aligned with geographic coordinates. Browse rectified maps by location, or search by keyword or name. Not all of the maps we have seen have been digitized, and not all digitized maps have been rectified. Rectifying historic maps is a public project; anyone can create an account and rectify historic maps. Sounds fun – why not give it a try?

Site reports for our class visit to the NYPL map collection are due on Wednesday, October 28, and site reports for our class visit to the Brooklyn Collection of the Brooklyn Public Library are due on Wednesday, November 4, posted to the OpenLab course site by the start of class. Use the same site report template as you’ve been using.

Both the NYPL map room and the Brooklyn Collection are open to the public; check the hours in advance if you plan to visit again to conduct research on your own or with your group.

On Monday we meet at 10 a.m. at the Brooklyn collection at the Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library at Grand Army Plaza. The 2 and 3 trains stop at Grand Army Plaza, and the B41 bus stops across the street from the library entrance at Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza. The Brooklyn Collection is located on the 2nd floor of the library. Bring sketchbooks/notebooks, pencils, and your phones or cameras to document the primary sources in a variety of media — photos, newspaper clippings, maps, manuscripts — that we’ll study.

Site reports for the NYPL map collection visit are due on Wednesday, October 28 posted to the OpenLab. Don’t forget to post your post-site-visit reflections!

See you Monday!