PBSKids.org
© 2004 Public Broadcasting Service
PBSkids.org is a hub for 23 individual web sites as of May 2008. Children can click on a PBS Kids character (such as Barney or Mr. Rogers) on a spinning carrousel to jump directly to that site. They can easily jump back to the PBSkids home at any point. Because each site was created by different publishers, quality and features can vary widely. For example, the content in the 'Clifford' site was produced fairly recently (2006) by Scholastic Entertainment, while 'Mr. Rogers Neighborhood' hasn't changed since 2001. Many of the sites offer the ability to watch streaming episodes of the shows in a variety of formats (as we noticed in 'Super Why' when played in QuickTime), and there's a nice range of content -- from 'Teletubbies' for younger children to 'Cyberchase' for older kids. Commercial content is minimal. Besides the obvious plugging of the TV schedules, you get the feeling that the people who designed these sites were more interested in learning than selling. For example, "Don't Wake Kate," is one of the 35 games in the 'Arthur' web site, at http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/dontwakekate/index.html, and was a favorite of one of our six-year-old testers, who liked moving around in a hidden maze by designing a simple program of directions. The sponsors (or underwriters) for each show are generally listed on the parent's pages on each site, with a message such as "Barney and Friends is sponsored by Chuck e Cheeses" or "Corporate funding is provided by Sun Maid Raisins." Clicking on the sponsor logo brings you to a new page, with a warning that you are about to leave PBSkids. We noticed that six of the sites now contain a link to a new subscription-based service, called PBS Kids Play. Again, a warning screen is first shown before children are taken to a subscription screen. It would be good if these costs for this service were disclosed up front, however, especially because parents have come to expect free content from PBS. If PBS Kids can be criticized, it is because there are so many games that vary in quality and don't have any smart features or any relationship to one another. This gives the site a "hit or miss" quality. But it is always easy to exit from any activity, and because there's so much to choose from, it is likely children can find a well-designed, commercial-free activity.
Internet Site
Teaches: school readiness, reading, language & literacy, classification and so on
CTR Rating: 94%