Hi Barry, I guess you're aware of the advances in "bots" inside the wikipedia that automate things. Of course, this requires being able to contribute with coding. That may offer a road to a solution. Maybe you could offer it as an idea to ICT students looking for inspiring projects.
Regarding the encyclopedia per age group. Wouldn't a collaborative wikibook in the style of "My first Encyclopedia - for 5-6-7 years olds", "My first Encyclopedia - for 8-9 years olds", "My first Encyclopedia - for 10-11-12 years olds", be the way to go? You just drag and drop from the wikipedia, start deleting/re-writing and ... if kids want more and more info... eventually the are linked to maybe the "My first Encyclopedia - for the next age group", until eventually they land up to the "Simple English" Wikipedia? Have a nice continuation of yr day :) On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Barry Desborough < [email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for all your comments guys. > > Yes, a separate searchable space within Wikipedia would be great. > Unfortunately, Simple English Wikipedia is not specifically oriented to > young children in the way I have tried to show with my prototype. There is > always a temptation to try and put far too much content on a single page > rather than spread it over a series of pages like a slide show > presentation. And the language is still not simple enough. It should only > be as advanced as is required to convey the simplest of basics, any further > material being accessible via links. One key requirement should be a search > facility that only turns up child-oriented material. There is a schools > section within the Simple English Wikipedia, but the search facility on > these pages takes one back to the general content. I’ve tried to talk with > the Wikipedians about this, but it is hard to get hold of anyone with the > authority to discuss these issues - which is why I came to the OLPC with > the concept. > > Barry > > > On 13 Mar 2016, at 11:37, Sven AERTS <[email protected]> wrote: > > OMG that Simple English portal page of the wikipedia has a dedicated page > for schools/teachers/kids. Barry, I think this is what you've been looking > for: > https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Schools > > ! > > On Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 11:26 AM, Sven AERTS <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hi Barry, hi Samuel, >> >> Quiz: On the wikipedia, in the navigation pane on the left, under the >> section "Languages" , there is a "language" / category mentioned that is >> not a language and intended for a specific public. What is the name of that >> "language"? >> >> "Languages" >> >> - Simple English <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/> >> >> >> The *Simple English Wikipedia* is a Wikipedia >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia> encyclopedia >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia>, written in basic >> English <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_English>.[1] >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia#cite_note-1> >> Articles in the Simple English Wikipedia use shorter sentences and >> simpler words <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words> and grammar >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar> than the English Wikipedia >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia>. >> The Simple English Wikipedia is also for people with different needs. >> Some examples of people who use Simple English Wikipedia: >> >> - Students <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student> >> - Children <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children> >> - Adults <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult> who might find it >> hard to learn or read >> - People who are learning English >> <https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language> >> >> Other people use the Simple English Wikipedia because the simple language >> helps them understand hard ideas or topics they do not know about. >> Right now, the Simple English Wikipedia has 117,857 articles. As of >> October 2015, it was the 49th largest Wikipedia >> >> On Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 3:32 AM, Samuel Klein <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi Barry, this looks like an excellent candidate to merge with Vikidia. >>> Have you worked with them or their community of children and teachers? >>> >>> https://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Main_Page >>> >>> Warmly, SJ >>> >>> On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 11:10 AM, Barry Desborough < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hello, I’m Barry Desborough, a retired teacher who taught in English >>>> primary and secondary schools. >>>> >>>> I have been trying, on and off, to get an idea off the ground. It is >>>> for a free, online, child-oriented encyclopedia. I have tried approaching >>>> Wikipedia itself, the Khan Academy and the California CK-12 initiative, and >>>> I have paid for and started to develop a Wikispaces site "Wikidia dot net" >>>> to show how the idea works. Unfortunately, I was not able to rustle up >>>> enough contributors to be able to justify continuing to pay for the site, >>>> and for various reasons, the other sites are not a good match for the >>>> project idea. >>>> >>>> What’s a child-oriented encyclopedia? It’s an encyclopedia that a >>>> child, on their own, may go to and navigate for themselves, to find >>>> age-appropriate educational content of interest to them. Pages should be >>>> brief, and as simple as possible for conveying the information. The pages >>>> should also be suitable for directed learners, and usable as teaching >>>> material by educators. Wikipedia content, as is used by the OLPC Digital >>>> Library, is not generated with the needs of children in mind. I have an old >>>> prototype of the idea still on the net at >>>> https://wikids.wikispaces.com/Index+1 which should give the general >>>> idea. >>>> >>>> I am looking for a new home for this project, and it occurred to me >>>> that the OLPC might be able to host it, and encourage other contributions >>>> of suitable content, either from educators, or from children themselves, >>>> wiki-style. Generating content for it should provide a great motivational >>>> incentive for classes of pupils! There’s constructivism for you! All it >>>> would need would be a separate searchable wiki on the OLPC website. I would >>>> be happy to spend the rest of my retirement generating, curating and >>>> moderating content for such a wiki, and I would be willing to contribute a >>>> substantial (for me) sum in order to help get the thing started and keep it >>>> going. >>>> >>>> With the cost and producing and distributing textbooks is so high, and >>>> in a world where teachers are unavailable or too expensive but cheap >>>> internet technology is becoming ever more accessible, I believe far more >>>> attention should be paid to providing accessible, high quality, >>>> appropriately pitched educational content. >>>> >>>> Is there anyone on the list with the authority to pick this up, or has >>>> contacts with such people? >>>> >>>> What are your thoughts on the idea? >>>> >>>> Regards >>>> >>>> Barry >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Olpc-open mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 >>> 4266 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Olpc-open mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open >>> >>> >> > >
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