Offline Projects/Content Development
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| Offline: Content Development | |
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Contents |
Overview [edit]
Just as for the online resource, the offline versions of Wikimedia content are only as strong as their contents. The main constraint with an offline product is the data size restrictions: the entirety of Wikipedia (and/or other Wikimedia projects) must somehow be condensed so that it fits on a CD, DVD, or USB stick which then has to be housed on a computer, mobile phone, or e-reader. The goal of carefully selecting content, then, is to provide the best and most appropriate static content.
The goal is:
| To provide a library of the highest quality and most relevant offline content collections. |
This implies having content options most relevant for the different offline audiences. Many factors must be taken into consideration, including
- Language
- Culture
- Location/geography
- Article complexity
Want to create your own custom offline collection? See:
- (English) Special:Book
- (French) fr:Sp%C3%A9cial:Livre
Current wiki projects [edit]
The following languages are working on creating offline files for some subset of the Wikimedia projects.
| Language | Project type | Project name | Project status |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | General collection | Wikipedia 1.0 | 0.8 completed; waiting for 1.0 update 2011 |
| English | Schools collection | Wikipedia for Schools | 2008-09 version completed; waiting for the updated 2011 |
| English | Schools collection | Offline Wikipedia for Indian Schools | under progress |
| Spanish | General collection | Wikipedia 1.0 | Est. August release date; for articles see ToolServer |
| Portuguese | Schools Collection | Ongoing! Project Page; List of articles | |
| French | General collection | Wikipédia:1.0 | |
| German | General collection | ||
| Polish | General collection | ||
| Hebrew | Total collection | ||
| Tamil | General collection | ||
| Malayalam (Wikipedia) | General collection of selected articles | Wikipedia 1.0 | Released on 2010 April 17 |
| Malayalam (Wikisource) | General collection of selected books | Wikisource 1.0 | Released on 2011 June 11 |
In addition to these aggregate selections, there is also need and room for the selection of niche collections: e.g., the creation of articles regarding to Chemistry, India, etc. Some of these are accessible by the independent creation of books via the PediaPress book extension tool on Wikipedia. These creations are independent projects and can be found at Wikipedia:Books.
General Instructions [edit]
General steps to completion
General Library of contents [edit]
- By language
- By subject
- By purpose (e.g., for schools)
Content creation support materials [edit]
Wikipedia for Schools [edit]
The Schools Content project page shows the list of articles included in the distribution, and provides a workspace for suggestions for adding articles.
Excluded articles [edit]
Some articles are excluded from the collection as they are non-appropriate / essential for schools. A list of such articles intentionally excluded by OLPC can be seen here: http://mad.printf.net/blacklist2.
Tools [edit]
Wikipedia Book Creator [edit]
Created in partnership with PediaPress, the Wikipedia Book Creator enables users to easily select specific articles from Wikipedia and create a book. This "book" can then be downloaded for free in PDF or openZIM format, or for a fee the content can be ordered as a physical book.
See Book Creator on Wikipedia for more information or to create a book. All collections are available for offline, openZIM download in the Offline Repository.