Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this add-on to your computer creates a safe Internet experience for children ages 4-7 by locking them into pre-selected age-appropriate sites and not allowing them to get to the files on your computer. Although kids younger than 4 can probably use these sites, we don't recommend having kids online who are that young. The software which makes this happen also has parental controls that allow you to set time limits for how long your children can play on the Internet. You can add more Internet destinations by purchasing add-on keys. The activities on the specially created Fisher-Price games and activities Web site sometimes promote toys by having them featured in the online games.
Families can talk about which destination they like best, and what games at that destination they like to play. After playing a game about a toy, does it make you want to own that toy?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
Watching a preschooler surf the Net may strike terror in a parent's heart. If you turn away for a minute, will he stay on the educational site that you have found for him? And how about your personal files -- are they safe or will untrained little hands click into a disaster?
EASY LINK INTERNET LAUNCH PAD addresses these concerns by providing a safe Internet experience that locks kids into age-appropriate sites and won't let them click into the files that are on that computer. Once online and safe, kids can't leave until you let them out. Here's how it works:
For $30, parents get a device that plugs into a Windows-based computer via a USB cord. This 10-inch-by-6-inch plastic launch pad comes with three plastic Smart Keys: one of Elmo from Sesame Street, one of Zak & Wheezie from Dragon Tales, and one that looks like a Fisher-Price toy dog. Parents place one of these three keys into the device's centered green plug. The key lights up, and the computer automatically launches an associated Web site. The device sits in its own mouse pad, and kids use the device's arrow keys and your own computer mouse to navigate within the games found on the Web sites. Parents can remove their keyboard and keep it safe from sticky fingers.
With the Elmo key, kids are taken to the games section of the Sesame Workshop Web site (www.sesameworkshop.org). From there kids can explore over 50 games. They can sort the games by character (Big Bird, Elmo, Telly, Oscar, etc.) or educational topic (such as ABCs, 123s, shapes, dot-to-dots, sorting). Kids can also explore other activities including stories, art, music, mail, and Elmo's World. A typical game found on the site is Elmo's Weather Game where Elmo asks the child to select a type of weather and then dress him for that weather. It can get quite silly when children make it snow and then dress Elmo in a swimsuit.
With the Zak & Wheezie key, kids are taken to the Dragon Tales section of the PBSKids.org. There they can play 16 games with Cassie, Quetzal, Ord, and the other characters from the TV show. Parents will find an excellent sentence creation game where the sentences are read in both Spanish and English.
The Fisher-Price dog leads to a specially created Fisher-Price games and activities Web site. Here kids find five options for play: puzzles and mazes, online coloring, arcade, learning, and print and color. While these activities are based on toy lines and sometimes promote the toys on which they are based, they do offer good opportunities for first-time computer activities. For example, under the online coloring activities, the Pixter dot-to-dot activity is perfect for teaching young children how to use the mouse. Kids are shown one blinking dot. When they click on it, another dot shows up. Click on the second dot and a line magically appears between the first two as a third dot appears. When children have negotiated their way to all the dots, a colorful object appears and animates.
Kids may need some help inserting the character keys. Additional smart keys are available in two-character packs for $6.99. Thomas the Train comes packaged with Bob the Builder. You can also buy Clifford and Arthur, and The Wiggles and Barney. All lead games on corresponding Web sites.
When children are finished playing with the Easy Link Internet Launch Pad, the software presents a password screen for parents. After parents type in their password, the system unlocks and returns the computer to normal. Another nice feature is that the program comes with parental controls that allow parents to set a timer for how long kids can play, and determine whether printing is allowed.
Reviewed: 10/03/2007
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CommercialismAt the Fisher-Price games, some use Fisher-Price toys as the basis for the games. |
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Educational ValueMost of the online educational games were very good. |
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