It may seem rather juvenile to write my review about this site – and indeed, it is a website catering to children – but I thought it would add an interesting perspective to the overall course to review this type of geography-related website. This website, as an information base and resource, falls under the category of Tools of the Geographer; I will focus my review of website content on the material included about the Hydrosphere.
First impressions, which are usually visual, are very important – the aesthetics of this website are thus the first subject of my review. The color scheme doesn’t appeal to my personal eye; however, the bright and multiple colors will attract the attention of the children the site is made for; the images serve this same purpose. There is a lot going on, in terms of content and words, on the home page; the sheer amount of words and click-through opportunities are overwhelming and may detract from the ability of users to actually find the information they are looking for. Additionally, there are a few places on the page containing advertisements – it is not fitting, though, to have ads on a website catered towards young children.
The overall content of this site is quite broad in the scope of information it covers. Geography and geology, two broad studies of the Earth, are subjects within this website; individual topics include the atmosphere and its processes, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and others. The range of subject matter is a strength of this site. Another strength is the inclusion of several other websites linked to this particular one, such as one that takes the site users to a different website about dinosaurs. The website, KidsGeo, is a good resource for curious children who have the desire and ability to search around and find information. The content and the wording used is very relatable to the audience; for example, in explaining salinity of the ocean, the text of the website asks the reader if they have ever tasted the ocean, and if so, what does it taste like?
This website has several sub-sections under the general category of the hydrosphere. These include some basic background information about water, specific details about each of the earth’s major oceans, several sections about the ocean, and a section about each of the other major existences of water (ice, lakes, rivers, etc.). There are images and diagrams within each section; the diagrams are over-simplified versions of the processes they describe, but simplicity is often beneficial in getting main ideas across – the simple diagrams are appropriate, then, for a kids’ geography website and for teaching them the primary concepts.
Overall, this website is rather visually overwhelming and very simple in regards to the depth of information covered. However, it serves its purpose as a resource for children to find out information about the earth.
–Natalie Somerville
Hey girl! I have to say that I completely agree with your write-up! I originally was going to do a write-up on a children’s geography website as well but was overwhelmed by the layout and chose to do one that appeals to an older audience. One thing I failed to do when considering the kids website though is to view the site through the lens of a child, which is something you did very well!
The purple background and all the spinning globes are visually distracting, but as a child, this would most likely not detract from the information presented. I think the site does a wonderful job of presenting the information in super simplistic language and avoids over-complicating the material. I also appreciate how the site almost presents the information in a scientific research paper format, beginning with the broad category of “Hello Earth” and then narrowing the information to “Describing Our Planet” before presenting earth’s layers and what is found within those layers. Great job Natalie!!
Hey girl! I have to say that I completely agree with your write-up! I originally was going to do a write-up on a children’s geography website as well but was overwhelmed by the layout and chose to do one that appeals to an older audience. One thing I failed to do when considering the kids website though is to view the site through the lens of a child, which is something you did very well!
The purple background and all the spinning globes are visually distracting, but as a child, this would most likely not detract from the information presented. I think the site does a wonderful job of presenting the information in super simplistic language and avoids over-complicating the material. I also appreciate how the site almost presents the information in a scientific research paper format, beginning with the broad category of “Hello Earth” and then narrowing the information to “Describing Our Planet” before presenting earth’s layers and what is found within those layers.