tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697013836872066663.post-51421730101064377722008-06-17T07:47:00.000-07:002008-07-15T12:47:55.564-07:00The June issue of <a href="http://www.childrenssoftware.com/">The Childrens' Technology Review</a>, edited by Warren Buckleitner, includes reviews of three of the most popular Web sites for preschoolers -- <a href="http://www.nickjr.com/">NickJr.com</a>, <a href="http://mynoggin.com/">MyNoggin.com </a>and <a href="http://www.pbskids.org/">PBSKids.org</a>.<br /><br />If you are a parent trying to avoid banner ads and "free" trials that eventually end up on your credit card, these reviews are worth a read. MyNoggin, a $10/month subscription site, gets high marks for design and usability. PBSKids, which is free, fares well too. As Buckleitner noted about the pages within PBSKids.org, "you get the feeling that the people who designed these sites were more interested in learning than selling."<br /><br />NickJr.com, on the other hand, is criticized for its advertising clutter and its "confusing mashup of inter-linking brands and services" that don't always lead children to the free games they come looking for.<br /><br />In fact, Buckleitner has been writing up a storm on this topic lately. In a recent report for Consumer Reports' <a href="http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/">Web Watch</a>, he shone a spotlight on many trouble spots in online Web sites for young children. (The report comes with <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/cwwkids">a series of YouTube videos </a>that are poignant and eye-opening.) And in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/technology/personaltech/12basics.html?em&amp;ex=1213761600&amp;en=10ad107a6e1221f4&amp;ei=5087%0A">a story for The New York Times </a>last week, he offered suggestions on how to find digital toys and Web sites that match a child's stage of cognitive and motor development. Not everyone will agree with everything he recommends, but I'm happy to see him raise the bar for discourse on what makes sense for kids online. Go Warren!Lisa Guernseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05802490119006848211noreply@blogger.com