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Education/Newsletter/December 2015/A portal for teachers and education institutions on the French Wikipedia

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By Jules Xénard, Chargé de projet Éducation, Wikimédia France

Snippet: Wikimedia France and some Wikipedians created a portal for the teachers and education institutions, on the French Wikipedia, listing the benefits of developing wise use of Wikipedia among students.

In this new academic year, Wikimédia France is giving special attention to supporting the education community, with whom a big number of projects is growing. One of these prominent projects is Wikiconcours lycéen, taking place for the third consecutive year.

This summer, Wikimedia France and some Wikipedians created a portal for the teachers and education institutions, on the French Wikipedia. This portal, works as a toolkit, listing the benefits of developing wise use of Wikipedia among students — development of critical thinking, collaborative work, information research skills, introduction on copyright, etc.— as well as examples of projects conducted by university and secondary school teachers. It also provides helping booklets to empower them. Moreover, the portal includes a forum where it is possible to interact with volunteer editors of Wikipedia who are familiar with the education system.

Creating this portal is part of a broader strategy to raise the awareness about Wikimedia projects in the classrooms, from primary school to university, especially since Wikimedia France was certified as a complementary educational association of public education by the French Education Ministry, about a year ago.

Read more about the Wikipedia Education Program in France here.