Vikidia
 | |
Type of site | Online encyclopedia |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | France |
| Owner | Association Vikidia |
| Created by | Mathias Damour |
| Website | vikidia.org |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | November 17, 2006 |
| Current status | Active |
Vikidia is a free online encyclopedia mainly written in French, Spanish, Italian, and English, primarily intended for children from 8 to 13 years old.[1]
The encyclopedia uses the MediaWiki engine. Its French version reached 30,000 articles at the start of April 2020. In October 2020, Vikidia signed an agreement with Wikimedia France[2] to promote this encyclopedia in the school environment as an alternative to Wikipedia for educational projects with a public of young teenagers or kids who are too young to contribute to Wikipedia.
History of French version
The French version of Vikidia was created on 14 November 2006 by Mathias Damour, who contributes to Vikidia under the nickname of Astirmays.[3] The website was opened to the public three days later. Its operation was inspired by Wikikids[4]; and then, inspired DicoAdo[5]
The encyclopedia reached the milestone of 1,000 articles in April 2007 (with 100 user accounts), 2,000 in September 2007, 5,000 in September 2008, 10,000 in July 2011, 15,000 in August 2013, and 20,000 in July 2005. In April 2020, Vikidia reached 30,000 articles.[6]
In 2008 Vikidia was mentioned in the book Web et dirigeants (Web and leaders) by Dominique Annet.[7]
Principles
At the time of its creation, Vikidia could be edited with or without an account. In January 2008, following a discussion between contributors, the articles became editable only for users who had an account. But since 9 March 2008, people can again edit the encyclopedia without an account, being identified by IP address.
A neutral point of view is required, and the content must be adapted for children from 8 to 13 years old. The content is published under a Creative Commons licence and GDFL.
Content considered inappropriate for children is often excluded. When the topic is hard to understand, contributors try to simplify it.
Educational use
Vikidia also aims to promote participation by children in educational projects in primary and secondary school, or on their own.
According to an INRP comparison,[8] the pros for the encyclopedia is the common point with Wikipedia, which makes usage easy for teachers who already work with it. [9]
The French search engine Qwant uses Vikidia in its kids' version Qwant Junior to offer definitions adapted for children.[10]
Since 2018[11], Vikidia participates at the WikiChallenge in partnership with Orange Fondation. Orange, an internet access provider, gives computers with the software WikiFundi, which allows creating articles without internet connection, to more than 100 schools in Africa participating in the competition[12]. For Vikidia, the goal is to have more articles about the continent Africa. Winning schools get 2,000 euros of school supplies including bags, notebooks and computers. Also, the Jury chooses three winners who then get 5,000 euros of school supplies.
References (mainly in french)
- ↑ "Statistiques de Vikidia - Vikidia, l'encyclopédie des 8-13 ans". fr.vikidia.org. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
- ↑ "Un partenariat au service de l'encyclopédie des plus jeunes !". Wikimédia France (in français). 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ↑ "Okapia johnstoni Okapi : Fr. Okapi; Ger. Okapi", Mammals of Africa : Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013, doi:10.5040/9781472926968.0017, ISBN 978-1-4729-2696-8, retrieved 2021-05-28
- ↑ Raymond, Jean-Luc (September 2007). "Vikidia, a Wikipedia for children from 8 to 13 years old". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Discussions around a dictionary for childrens". June 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Vikidia History". Vikidia. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Annet, Dominique (2008). Web et Dirigeants. Edipro. ISBN 978-2-930287-99-7. Search this book on
- ↑ "dossier d'analyses de sites éducatifs de type wiki — EducTice". eductice.ens-lyon.fr. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
- ↑ "À quoi ça sert, Wikipédia ? - 1jour1actu.com - L'actualité à hauteur d'enfants !". 1jour1actu.com (in français). Retrieved 2021-05-28.
- ↑ "Le moteur de recherche français Qwant rénove sa déclinaison pour les enfants". Europe 1 (in français). Retrieved 2021-05-28.
- ↑ "le wikichallenge pour connecter les écoles africaines au reste du monde". Orange.mg (in français). Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ↑ "WikiChallenge : une Afrique méconnue, racontée par les enfants des Ecoles Numériques". fondationorange.com/ (in français). Retrieved 2021-07-16.
This article "Vikidia" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Vikidia. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
