Wikijunior

A while ago, the Beck Foundation approached the Wikimedia Foundation, inquiring about whether we would be able to use our resources to develop educational material for a younger audience. We responded that we would be interested in such a project, and that our materials can be adapted for children. A proposal was sent, and we received a small grant to develop the project. Thus was born Wikijunior. Before delving into the details of the project, it should be noted that this is a working title, and suggestions for a better name are welcome.

The idea behind Wikijunior is to produce a series of full-color glossy booklets (48 pp.; 8 ½ x 11) for a young audience (ages 7-12) on a variety of topics that interest kids. This can include Astronomy, Animals, Dinosaurs, Countries of the World, Science, History, and virtually anything else we can think of. The books will not be comprehensive. Instead, they can form various subseries, such as African Mammals, Jurassic Carnivores, South America, the French Revolution, etc. These will also be numbered (e.g., African Mammals 1-5).

These booklets will be richly illustrated with photographs, diagrams, sketches, and original drawings. They should be appealing to kids, and the writing should be light and friendly. The texts will also follow a format, so that each article, while different, will also have certain common features, so that kids can flip through the different articles and find the themes that are of especial interest to them. This can be achieved by replacing standard Wikipedia headers with questions. (e.g., Where do lions/giraffes/elephants live?)

Wikijunior will also have an extensive online component. Like any Wiki project, they will be developed online, and the community will create, edit, and verify the content.

There will, however, be certain basic differences.

1. All content must be verified. Sources should be given in the talk page for any additions made to the text.
2. Uniform spelling will be adopted. This can be either British or American, but it is unfair to confuse kids. Editions might be made in British and American versions, if necessary.
3. There will be NO POV warring, and the content, for the most part, will not be conducive to POV warring. Nor will there be any material that qualified educators deem inappropriate for children of that age. In other words, even if we do something on human reproduction, it will be done tastefully, without any references to rimming.
4. The online version will also have a special area for kids to ask questions. They will then be directed to the appropriate articles or article segments. In the event that the material is missing, we will do what we can to amend that.
5. The website that is accessible to kids will not be identical to the website accessible to contributors. That will avoid having kids who are just trying to do their homework get caught up in flame wars, personal attacks, and other assorted bullshit (you know exactly what I mean).

Our plan calls for these books to be distributed worldwide. A token fee may be requested, based on where they are being distributed, i.e., the fee in Uzbekistan will not be the same as the fee in London. Prices should be affordable to kids, not to their parents.

Wikijunior will be written in English at first, since the grant is for English-language version. However, we strongly encourage translation into other languages. Highest priority will be given to Latin American Spanish and Arabic, because of other potential grant opportunities. Priority means that the Wikimedia Foundation will consider funding a print run in those languages before a print run in Klingon or Gothic.

Special consideration will be given to information that will be of value or interest to children in developing countries, since that is a primary target for this project.

1. Select a name for this project
2. Choose the topic for the first volume.
3. Select the content that will be used in the first volume.
4. Select the uniform question that will appear throughout the volume.
5. Create a sample spread (4 pp.).
6. Submit to educators for comment.
7. Create the project.

More information will be added soon. Please put all comments on the Talk Page.

1. Danny 15:42, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
2. Ugen64 15:50, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)