Virtual Learning Environment/Lesson dependencies

The primary purpose of this table is to identify the current 81 VLE lessons as lying on seven levels (I = introductory, VII = most advanced). These levels reflect dependencies: the top level VII consists of topics for which you should study half-a-dozen other things before attempting.

This information then can feed into e.g. training, video scripts, curriculum development. It also shows up areas where the existing material could be reconsidered. Another by-product should be some idea of a "core" training curriculum.

Division by level

The numbers of lessons on each level are

• I = 10, II = 14, III = 15, IV = 22, V = 11, VI = 6, VII = 3.

Bold is used below for lessons considered in the "core curriculum". The lessons by level, and then alphabetically, are:

• Level I: Editing (A); Free Content (A); Link to Wikipedia (B); Navigation (A); Other Files (B); Parts of an Article (B); Reuse (A); Search (A); Troubleshooting (A); Wikipedia Basics (A).
• Level II: Accounts (A); Categories (A); Contacting Wikipedia and Wikimedia (B); Content Policy (A); Edit Window (A); Free Content (B); Images (A); Policy Made Simple (A); Problem Content (B); Wikimedia Basics (X); Wikipedia Basics (B); Wikipedia Basics (C); Wikipedia Technical Overview (B); WikiProjects (A).
• Level III: Accounts (B); Categories (B); Characters and Tables (A); Conflict of Interest (A); Deletion (A); Images (B); Images (C); Policy and Guidelines (B); Search and Navigation (B); Talk Pages (A); The Wikipedia Model (B); Tools and Labs (B); User Features and User Space (A); Wikipedia Writing (B); Wikitext (A).
• Level IV: Biographies of Living Persons (B); Deletion (B); Disagreements (A); Disambiguation (B); Drafting (A); Encyclopedias (B); External Links (B); How to Ask (A); Major and Minor Edits (A); Non-article Content (B); Non-Roman Scripts (B); Onsite Status (A); Orphans and Dead-ends (A); Other Languages (B); Page Protection (B); Problem Users (A); Redirects (B); Referencing (A); Reuse (B); Starting an Article (A); Talk Pages (B); Templates (B).
• Level V: Article Tagging (A); Bans and Blocks (A); Conflict of Interest (B); Editing (B); Handling Content Disputes (B); Merges (B); Onsite Status (B); Page Moves (A); Referencing (B); Sister Projects (B); Templates (C).
• Level VI: Conflict of Interest and Bias (X); Formal Dispute Resolution (B); Splits and Summary Style (C); Starting an Article (B); Templates (X); Wikitext (B).
• Level VII: Appeals (C); MediaWiki (C); Wikipedia Writing (C).

Notations

The notations used are:

• Column 2: A = introductory level; B = everyday editing level; C = advanced level; X = so you think you are an expert.
• Column 3: R = Useful for any reader; T = wikitext; W = writing; S = social; M = Wikimedia; F = free/open content.

Tabulation

Number	Lesson Audience Level	Area(s)	"Read first" text	Dependencies (heavy)	Dependencies (light)	Depended on by (heavy)	Depended on by (light)	Comments Draft script
1	Accounts (A) II	S	"In this lesson you will learn how to open a Wikipedia account, and some advantages of editing as a logged-in user. It would be a good idea to read Wikipedia Basics (A) of the Overview Topic before this lesson, but it is not strictly necessary. Parts of an Article (B) of the Content Topic explains how users who are not logged in have their IP numbers recorded in page histories."		47 73	2 40 61 71		"Creating an account is easy: all you need is a decent choice of username (but not a company or institution), and a good password. But try to understand the implications."
2	Accounts (B) III	S	"In this lesson you will learn about the autoconfirmation technicality that kicks in after an account has been active for a short time, and about the secure server. You should read Accounts (A) of this Accounts Topic first."	1		45 46
3	Appeals (C) VII	S	"In this lesson you will learn how to appeal against a block on Wikipedia, and other administrative measures. It would be helpful to be familiar with Onsite Status (B) of the Community and Interaction Topic, and Formal Dispute Resolution (B) of this Disputes Topic."	25 41		None	None
4	Article Tagging (A) V	TS	"In this lesson you’ll learn how to tag articles for maintenance, and the related etiquette. This lesson depends on Editing (A) of the Editing Topic. There are no other particular prerequisites, but looking at Templates (B) of the Templates Topics, and Talk Pages (A) of the Community and Interaction Topic, might be helpful."	21	63 65	None	None
5	Bans and Blocks (A) V	S	"In this lesson you will learn how users are excluded from editing Wikipedia. For a good understanding, you should first read Problem Users (A) of this Disputes Topic, and Onsite Status (A) of the Community and Interaction Topic."	40	51	None	None
6	Biographies of Living Persons (B) IV	W	"In this lesson you will learn about the policy and practical aspects of Wikipedia’s handling of biographical material on living people. You should study Content Policy (A) of this Content Topic first, and The Wikipedia Model (B) of the Overview Topic."	14 68		None	None
7	Categories (A) II	T	"In this lesson you’ll learn how to explore the Wikipedia category system. You should read Search (A) and Navigation (A) of this Finding Methods topic first."	37 57		8 30 58 66 69
8	Categories (B) III	T	"In this lesson you will learn how to perform categorization on Wikipedia. You should be familiar with Categories (A) of this Finding Methods Topic, and the early lessons of the Editing Topic."	7 20 21 37 80		None	None
9	Characters and Tables (A) III	T
10	Conflict of Interest (A) III	WS
11	Conflict of Interest (B) V	WS
12	Conflict of Interest and Bias (X) VI	WS
13	Contacting Wikipedia and Wikimedia (B) II	M
14	Content Policy (A) II	W
15	Deletion (A) III	S
16	Deletion (B) IV	S
17	Disagreements (A) IV	S
18	Disambiguation (B) IV	T
19	Drafting (A) IV	W	"In this lesson you will learn a few ways to draft Wikipedia articles before you create them. It assumes Editing (A) of the Editing Topic, and User Features and User Space (A) of the Features Topic. It also mentions page moves, which are covered in Page Moves (A) of the Web-making Topic, and Starting an Article (A) of this Writing and Referencing Topic.	21 71	45 61
20	Edit Window (A) II	T
21	Editing (A) I	T	"In this lesson you will learn how to make a basic edit to an existing Wikipedia page, by going to the “edit” tab. There are no particular prerequisites, but Search (A) of the Finding Methods Topic would be helpful in finding examples of copy editing that is needed."	None	57	19 20 30
22	Editing (B) V	T
23	Encyclopedias (B) IV	RW
24	External Links (B) IV	T	"In this lesson you will learn how to add external links to Wikipedia, a basic operation in using web pages as references."	80*
25	Formal Dispute Resolution (B) VI	S
26	Free Content (A) I	F	"In this lesson you will learn what is meant by saying that Wikipedia consists of free content."	None	None	27
27	Free Content (B) II	F	"In this lesson you will learn how the availability of free content has practical effects on what can be added to Wikipedia. You should read Free Content (A) of this Content Topic first."	26		32
28	Handling Content Disputes (B) V	WS
29	How to Ask (A) IV	S	"In this lesson you will learn ways to ask questions on Wikipedia, when you need help as a user. You should read Troubleshooting (A) of the Overview Topic first for some basic information. It would be helpful to have read User Features and User Space (A) of the Features Topic, and the first two section of the Editing Topic. For anything very technical you may need the content tips from Talk Pages (B) of this Community and Interaction Topic."	20 21 70 71	64
30	Images (A) II
31	Images (B) III
32	Images (C) III	F	"In this lesson you will learn some advanced considerations on images as free content. It also explains some ways to hide images on Wikipedia from the reader. You should be familiar with Free Content (A) and (B) of the Content Topic."	30 31		None	None
33	Link to Wikipedia (B) I	M		None	None	None	None
34	Major and Minor Edits (A) IV
35	MediaWiki (C) VII
36	Merges (B) V
37	Navigation (A) I	R	"In this lesson you will learn various ways to explore Wikipedia content via hyperlinks. There are no particular prerequisites, but use of the search box is mentioned."	None	None	7 8
38	Non-article Content (B) IV
39	Non-Roman Scripts (B) IV
40	Onsite Status (A) IV	S	"In this lesson you will learn about Wikipedia administrators, and other status groups of Wikipedia users. It would be helpful to have read some of the Overview Topic and Accounts Topic first."	None	1 73 74 75
41	Onsite Status (B) V
42	Orphans and Dead-ends (A) IV
43	Other Files (B) I	T		None	None	None	None
44	Other Languages (B) IV
45	Page Moves (A) V
46	Page Protection (B) IV
47	Parts of an Article (B) I			None	None
48	Policy and Guidelines (B) III	WS		None	None
49	Policy Made Simple (A) II	RWS	"In this lesson you will learn the fundamentals of Wikipedia’s content and social policies. Before you read it, it would be helpful to study Wikipedia Basics (A) of the Overview Topic, and Free Content (A) of the Content Topic."	None	26 73
50	Problem Content (B) II	RWS
51	Problem Users (A) IV
52	Redirects (B) IV	T	"In this lesson you will learn about redirect pages. For the particular case of redirects to sections, it would be helpful to read about sections in Wikitext (B) of the Editing Topic."	80	81
53	Referencing (A) IV
54	Referencing (B) V
55	Reuse (A) I	F	"In this lesson you will learn the conditions for reuse of Wikipedia material under the Creative Commons license."	None	None
56	Reuse (B) IV	MF	"In this lesson you will learn about forking of online communities. It would be helpful to have read Wikipedia Basics (C) of the Overview Topic first."	None	75
57	Search (A) I			None	None
58	Search and Navigation (B) III
59	Sister Projects (B) V
60	Splits and Summary Style (C) VI
61	Starting an Article (A) IV
62	Starting an Article (B) VI
63	Talk Pages (A) III
64	Talk Pages (B) IV
65	Templates (B) IV
66	Templates (C) V
67	Templates (X) VI
68	The Wikipedia Model (B) III
69	Tools and Labs (B) III
70	Troubleshooting (A) I	TWM		None	None
71	User Features and User Space (A) III
72	Wikimedia Basics (X) II
73	Wikipedia Basics (A) I	MF		None	None
74	Wikipedia Basics (B) II
75	Wikipedia Basics (C) II
76	Wikipedia Technical Overview (B) II
77	Wikipedia Writing (B) III
78	Wikipedia Writing (C) VII
79	WikiProjects (A) II
80	Wikitext (A) III
81	Wikitext (B) VI