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CONTENT: UpToTen is available in 6 languages: English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, and Korean). It includes a collection of interactive games, coloring, cards, and animated stories and songs. The animated characters Boowa and Kwala are the children's "hosts" on each page.
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AESTHETICS: This colorful and professional site is very child-friendly. Colored icons are organized for parent/teacher information and child-friendly access. For example, all the green icons indicate opportunities for motor skill development and all the blue icons indicate activities that are intended to promote intellectual agility. Interspersed among the pages are numerous ads for products from the sites store, however, and these could be distracting.
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ORGANIZATION: When you open UpToTen.com, two windows open, one for parents and the other for children. The parent window explains the site, while the children's window offers balloons that 'explode' when you roll over them to reveal explanations of what content is available if you click there. This presentation is very energetic, if perhaps just a little distracting. Nevertheless, it's easy to find your way around the site.
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REVIEW: To gain full access to all the features of UpToTen.com, you must register to be a member; membership is free. This membership is required to help build in security for children using the site. Members may send in drawings to post in the gallery or view drawings already posted. The Whats New page offers a choice of three games from the site (different each day), and a drawing sent in by a member. There are print-and-paint pages along with pages to color online. Sound effects add to the child-friendly atmosphere. The Boowa and Kwala page offers animated storybooks, songs, games (many created after requests were made by club members). Also featured in this area is The Boowa and Kwala Club, where fans of the site sign up for extras, such as e-mail updates, an area to store favorite games, and personalized birthday cards. Each activity at the site offers additional info for parents and caregivers, available by clicking on the Info button at the top of each page. The Parents section of the site offers a forum for communication with the creators of the site and with other adults. Information and practical suggestions are available on a wide variety of subjects related to child development. According to information on the site, children and parents in more than ten countries access it more than a million times a month. This site is very attractive with lots of activities to keep children interested!
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Copyright © 2002 Education World
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10/02/2002
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