I intend to review the Britannica Kids website with regard to the topic For Digital material.
The website has been designed to help educate children. The information is divided into four different age groups with information at each level having some variations. There are also several tabs that can help the children focus on what they are interested in, such as a map of the world with links on each country to articles that Britannica Kids have on that area. The other benefit of the website has is that it can read out the articles to the children while at same time highlighting the words on the website so the children can see the spelling of the words as they are said. This could help children learn to read and spell. There are other tabs that will be useful for children, such as dictionary, animal kingdom, Biographies, articles, images and videos, which further subdivisions within them to help children find information on specific topics. The tab I had enjoyed using was being able to compare governments, populations, name of capital cities and type of money used in different countries. This can be done by going to the countries comparison tab. Subscription to the website is $9.95 month or $70 for a year. The main issue I have is that some of activities are linked to other websites and require a separate subscription or additional equipment. For example, the game “guardians of history” requires a google Home or amazon Alexa. The Britannica Kids website is also useful because it can give parents a way to help create interest in learning without the issues of having to monitor the children closely which can be an issue with children curiously searching google, Wikipedia or other search engines or websites. It is important that the home environment is conducive to children to learn (Vincent, 2017, p.541). The Britannica Kids website is also useful as the different information offered on the same topic for the different age groups helps to highlight what information is appropriate and can give a good example of the different levels of information that children at different age groups are ready to handle. This site can be used in addition to websites such as Wikipedia or books to help expand the resources that children use in their assignments. It could also be used when children have accessed information through another website which is aimed at an older audience, or when they need information in more simplistic terms that fit in with their knowledge.
Reference list
Vincent, C. (2017). The children have only got one education and you have to make sure it’s a good one’: parenting and parent–school relations in a neoliberal age. Gender and Education, 29(5), 541-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1274387