I also remember Yule Gibbons. (He reminded me of my mother's eccentric uncle who "lived off the land" eating weeds and any small crop that would grow amongst the weeds.) Mr. Gibbons was hawking Grape Nuts. His commercials were more sedate, sometimes clever, appealing to the adults in the audience. Website designers may also take the different approaches when designing content to appeal to different age groups. We can take a look at two examples: The Cancer Project and PBS Kids.
The Cancer Project
The Cancer Project is an informational site sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). It’s part of an educational project to promote dietary changes to prevent cancer.
The site is clean and well organized. The colors are reserved with just a pop of primary colors here and there on the home page. Graphics are limited. The design choices are appropriate considering the serious nature of the topic. Some visitors to this site may be dealing with the illness personally or through someone close to them. The content appears to be generally geared toward the lay person interested in cancer and prevention. Medical terms are simple but assume some knowledge of health issues. PCRM has another website targeted more at the medical community so there is little need to address them on this site.
Pictures and simple menus help the user navigate through the site easily. This is good for the visual and sequential learners among us. While primarily in English, there is one link that directs the user in Spanish to Spanish language material.
The Diet and Cancer page of the site provides categories of information related to research. The development of this page most likely included a compilation (through surveys or focus groups) of common questions regarding cancer and diet. Those questions where then grouped into categories that represent a common theme in the questions. For instance, basic information about cancer and its relationship to diet are grouped under Cancer Facts.
Selecting a topic from the category brings up a short article explaining the research and findings.
There is very little for the action oriented person to do on this site. There are drop down menus for a little bit of movement. And, for off-line adventures, there are recipes.
Overall, this is a very verbal website – mostly text – which could cost them some readers who are more visually inclined and like graphics. No accommodations are made here for the visually impaired; the addition of audio options would be useful.
PBS Kids
PBS Kids is a blast of color when you first enter. Content on the home page is heavy on graphics with minimal text. From the design, I assume that they are accommodating the youngest visitors who may not know how to read yet. They may not be able to make out the words on the screen but they can certainly recognize their favorite PBS characters.
And you can’t hear this here but, when you move the cursor over the child-oriented links on the page, an enthusiastic child announces the option. This is yet another way to allow non-readers to navigate the sight. Clicking on the arrows spins the wheel in the center like a wheel of chance on the Boardwalk! It’s a very fun, active site which appeals to young children. Interestingly, the links for parents and teachers do not come with the same, excited audio announcements.
I happen to like Mr. Rogers so I selected his show from the wheel. His page is also bright and simple. There’s no audio on this page (or, as it turns out, on the Sesame Street page). So, those non-readers may need a little help if they don’t understand what the icons at the top stand for.
But, when you enter Mr. Rogers’ house, the fun starts again with moving doors and simple sounds as you move the cursor around. The primary elements on the screen, like the bag on the table or the trolley, link to new pages with activities kids can do off-line or even more moving elements triggered by your cursor and clicks.
Children learn quickly by doing. And there’s lots to do on the PBS Kids site. Surprisingly, I did not notice any links to material in languages other than English. This limits the audience to English speakers. And, there is little here for the visually impaired child.
To reach the widest range of viewers, a website should have a variety of elements to appeal to people with different learning styles and abilities. It’s a difficult thing to balance. And, with both sites being funded by non-profit organizations, there are budgetary limitations. Both sites, however, do a great job of making the material accessible to the targeted age groups.
The Diet and Cancer page of the site provides categories of information related to research. The development of this page most likely included a compilation (through surveys or focus groups) of common questions regarding cancer and diet. Those questions where then grouped into categories that represent a common theme in the questions. For instance, basic information about cancer and its relationship to diet are grouped under Cancer Facts.
Selecting a topic from the category brings up a short article explaining the research and findings.
There is very little for the action oriented person to do on this site. There are drop down menus for a little bit of movement. And, for off-line adventures, there are recipes.
Overall, this is a very verbal website – mostly text – which could cost them some readers who are more visually inclined and like graphics. No accommodations are made here for the visually impaired; the addition of audio options would be useful.
PBS Kids
PBS Kids is a blast of color when you first enter. Content on the home page is heavy on graphics with minimal text. From the design, I assume that they are accommodating the youngest visitors who may not know how to read yet. They may not be able to make out the words on the screen but they can certainly recognize their favorite PBS characters.
And you can’t hear this here but, when you move the cursor over the child-oriented links on the page, an enthusiastic child announces the option. This is yet another way to allow non-readers to navigate the sight. Clicking on the arrows spins the wheel in the center like a wheel of chance on the Boardwalk! It’s a very fun, active site which appeals to young children. Interestingly, the links for parents and teachers do not come with the same, excited audio announcements.
I happen to like Mr. Rogers so I selected his show from the wheel. His page is also bright and simple. There’s no audio on this page (or, as it turns out, on the Sesame Street page). So, those non-readers may need a little help if they don’t understand what the icons at the top stand for.
But, when you enter Mr. Rogers’ house, the fun starts again with moving doors and simple sounds as you move the cursor around. The primary elements on the screen, like the bag on the table or the trolley, link to new pages with activities kids can do off-line or even more moving elements triggered by your cursor and clicks.
Children learn quickly by doing. And there’s lots to do on the PBS Kids site. Surprisingly, I did not notice any links to material in languages other than English. This limits the audience to English speakers. And, there is little here for the visually impaired child.
To reach the widest range of viewers, a website should have a variety of elements to appeal to people with different learning styles and abilities. It’s a difficult thing to balance. And, with both sites being funded by non-profit organizations, there are budgetary limitations. Both sites, however, do a great job of making the material accessible to the targeted age groups.
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