Peer Review

Child Development Institute

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: May 9, 2003 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This review is for one section, Child Development Basics, of a larger site
entitled "Child Development Institute." The site is designed to "provide parent
education that is current, relevant and easy to attain" - in other words, a
general overview of child development and related topics. This section of the
site includes links to the following sections: Child Development Research, News
About Child Development, Tools & Calculators (link is no longer available),
Homework Help, Resource Directory, Books & Tapes, and Remembering 9/11: Helping
Kids Cope. There is also an online store which offers movies, games, books, and
magazines all related to child development.
Type of Material:: Collection/Reference material
Recommended Uses:: It is recommended that teachers in training have this site introduced to them
for use in the future when working with the families of their own students. For
those working directly with families, it is an excellent resource for parents
and games and books. Additionally, it provides links to reference
materials/sites for children to assist in homework completion (e.g., National
Geographic, Encyclopedia Britannica).
Technical Requirements:: None.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The major learning goal of the site is to provide information, resources, and
ideas about parenting to families.
Target Student Population:: The site has been designed for parents and other family members.
However, teachers in training would find it helpful to add this to their
resource files. It seems best suited for students in introductory classes in
child development, special education, and psychology.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Basic Web searching and navigation.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The information presented is written in a very straightforward manner. The chat
section seems particularly useful for parents. Potentially the most useful
part of the site for teachers is the Research section. This portion of the site
includes a lengthy alphabetical index of the entire Web site. A search feature
is built in and links to other professional databases are also included. "News
for Parents" is another useful section that links to articles and other
sources of current issues in child development. This page is updated on a daily
basis.
Concerns:: All of the links seem to be functional; however, there may be too much
information for this one portion of the site. The result is a lack of depth in
any given topic. Nothing on the site encourages active learning, but if
research is the user's sole intention, it serves its purpose.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: As a learning tool for parents, this site is excellent. Charts and information
on the physical, intellectual, language, and social development of children,
birth through adolescence, are available. Topics on specific disorders, health
and safety issues, homework ideas, and current issues facing parents are
presented. For purposes of teacher education, the information is limited.
Concerns:: Because of the lack of depth, students would need to be directed to do further
research.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The site is very easy to navigate; links are clearly indicated. No plug-ins or
special programs are required to use it.
Concerns:: Add banners occasionally pop-up on some of the links. The authors might want to
indicate that there are commercial sites as a warning to users. Navigation may
become a problem for some users because of the enormous amount of links
throughout.

Other Issues and Comments:: Some informational links included recommendations for specific products. While
this is helpful to some degree, it also suggests a high allegiance to marketing
within the site.
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