Vasco Da Gama

Website Critique

The first website I visited was www.nick.com authored by Viacom International, Inc. This website is partnered with the children's cable television network, Nickelodeon. Nick.com has areas related to each show on the television network where children can see previews of upcoming shows, find facts about their favorite Nickelodeon television stars and also play games associated with each show. The website is loaded with powerful imagery, motion and color. Children are definitely not at a loss for stimulation on the site. The website is popular with my eleven year old daughter and her friends because of the fun games to play.

This website is appropriate for children ages eight and above due to the fact that the areas of the site are related to the television shows geared toward that age group. (Nickelodeon also has a nickjr.com website for children under the age of eight with games more appropriate to the shows they would watch, i.e., Dora the Explorer.) The games featured on nick.com are appropriate for ages eight and above because of the advanced motor skills and attention needed to play the games. Children will have to use increased eye/hand coordination because the games are quickly paced. Children within this age group are in the concrete operational thinking stage and able to think more systematically which also aids in playing the games located on the website.

This website does not have much educational value other than being able to find the weather forecast for your zip code or another country. Nick.com is devoted mainly to entertaining children with games and fun facts about the television shows rather than educating them. The website is great for children, perhaps after homework, in order to just have fun and not think too seriously about anything.

Hudson 2

The second website visited was www.bookadventure.org authored by Sylvan Learning Center. This site is devoted to children and their reading readiness. The site is wonderful in encouraging children to read more for enjoyment rather than education (Although how can a child read and not be more educated? We just don't tell them that.) The site offers children reading lists appropriate for their grade level or lists to challenge their reading skills. The children read books from the lists provided on the site and then are able to take quizzes on the book and earn points from their correct answers. The points can be tallied