Children's Internet Site Evaluation Instrument
CSR Issue: January/February 1998
If you've spent time looking for quality sites for children, you know that they can be hard to find. Fortunately, many of the sites are free, but who wants to waste time? As we screen sites for CSR, we've come to recognize the following factors as important in the design of a high quality children's website. These factors help us assign our 1-5 star ratings for Internet sites.
1. Ease of Use No matter how strong the content, a site needs to be easy to use.
___The homepage (the first screen) provides a straightforward list of the site's contents (count how many clicks it takes to get to the main activities).
___The site interface makes sense to kids.
___Speed and interactivity is never sacrificed for graphics, sounds and animation.
___Consistent navigation techniques are used. The same "look and feel" for icons should be on every page, making it easy to back up or jump other pages. Add points for multiple ways to get to the same place.
___If there are search features on the site, they are straightforward and easy to operate.
2. Educational Eight key points to consider about content.
___There are interactive components in the design; e.g., places to post comments or contribute in some way to the content.
___The content is useful, accurate and updated in a timely manner.
___Where the content came from and when it was produced is described.
___There are different levels of content, to appeal to a broad age range.
___The site is free from stereotypes and excessive advertising.
___Carefully selected illustrations and multimedia features compliment the content.
___There is sufficient amount of content.
___Links to other sites are explained, updated, and support the site.
3. Entertaining These factors can help determine a site's fun value.
___Graphics and sounds are meaningful and enjoyed by children, or extend a familiar experience with a movie, museum, or book.
___New content can be found on the home page with each visit.
___Children have the opportunity to feel a sense of ownership by contributing to the site in some safe way.
___The challenge is fluid, or a child can select from several levels.
___The experience is aesthetically pleasing and professional looking.
4. Design Features Good sites stand up to a wide range of users.
___The site functions acceptably during high traffic times.
___The site functions with most browsers with mid to low-end modems (14.4K or 28.8K) Good site designers understand that many people, especially in elementary schools, must use tiny monitors, 14.4 modems and America Online.
___Clear graphics appear quickly (they don't look fuzzy or homemade).
___Internal links function properly.
5. Safety and Responsibility Good sites take care of children.
___Appropriate cautions are given when prompting for personal information.
___There is evidence that the chat rooms or bulletin boards are monitored.
___If the site is commercial in nature (with a .com at the end of the address), the site is straightforward about the products it is endorsing or trying to sell.
Copyright 1998, Children's Software Revue
"Good sites take care of children."