World History Project

The World History Project is an organization that is creating a free, online world history text that is based on the AP world history standard and seems geared toward taking the AP history test for high school students.

It is freely available at: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/World_History

There are 33 "chapters" available from Ancient Civilizations to A New Millennium, and also 4 appendices that discuss historical figures, conflicts, technology and how to prepare for the AP test.

The chapters are no-frills, but the creators state that updates are being added and they also provide a key to more interactive aspects of the Wikibook:

• This image denotes a section of especial interest which we thought would be nice to delve deeper into. It's probably something you're already familiar with, like the pyramids in Egypt.
• This image shows off a first-person narrative or commentary that we have. It puts issues in some context, and helps you understand how the people actually felt.
• This image shows a link to a non-fiction text on an event or period by an author who says it particularly well, such as Spielvogel might. Might also contain essays written by contributors on possible points of interest.

I reviewed all of the  "chapters" and found basic information in each section and some links to other sites or images (e.g., maps, paintings) embedded in the text.  There was no interactivity offered in any of the chapters as of yet, but this wikibook is a work in progress.

It does seem like a site that would be helpful to direct a student to who needs to get an overview of what is going to be covered in a world history class or to review material that has been taught to solidify understanding or to study for an exam. I also like the idea that you can add to the book and it would be a helpful tool to get students to summarize important information and possibly submit it for consideration for publication.  Overall, I liked the set up and the breadth of information, but felt it lacked in interactivity or depth of information.  So I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because it has potential.