Wikia

The Teenager's Online Entertainment Encyclopedia



= All About Wikia = = = An exciting Web 2.0 that is very useful to elementary and middle school students.

**Category/Grade Level** -5-12 -The focus is on different types of media and pop culture.

**Brief Description**
 * Wikia was developed from Wikipedia (a free open-source encyclopedia, where anyone can publish information).
 * Like Wikipedia, Wikia is not a traditional encyclopedia.
 * The main focus of Wikia’s topics are as follows: pop culture, entertainment and life style.
 * It provides communities with the opportunity to contribute information on a certain topic as well as to express their opinions.
 * Wikia was founded in 2004 and currently has 2 million registered users on 150,000 wiki communities.


 * Strengthes **
 * Free to browse and set up accounts.
 * The categories are designed to teenagers' interest levels.
 * Students are given the opportunities to look up specific information.
 * The site is very user friendly.
 * The language is easy to follow.
 * Information is very well organized.
 * The information also seems to be broken down more into individual parts.
 * Students can connect on it through Facebook.
 * A wide variety of information can be found at this site.
 * This is a good tool for very basic information.
 * It is written in multiple languages.


 * Weaknesses **
 * Must have an email address.
 * Information on this site may not be accurate.
 * Students/adults may decide to post inappropriate things.
 * This information may be more difficult to site.
 * There is always a risk that students may come in contact with Internet predators.


 * Suggestions for Classroom Uses **
 * Allow students to use this tool to evaluate a source following the guidelines of general Wikis.
 * Allow students to create a Wikia based upon a research project.
 * Allow students to use this site to get different ideas for research topics.
 * Use Wikia as a source to evaluate.
 * This would be a good lesson to teach about why it is important to put only valid information on here, that the Internet should not be your only source of information.

__** Helpful Links **__
 * Wikia Blog
 * Entertainment Wikia
 * Wikia Gaming
 * You Tube Video About Wikia