Instructables.com

Review

Common Sense Media says

Incredibly creative DIY projects, but not all for kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the Instructables.com app is a mobile gateway to the Instructables.com website. You can do almost anything with the app that you could on the site. The site is filled with hundreds of DIY projects -- anything from cooking recipes and art projects to building lamps and modifying an MP3 player -- all of which are submitted, with pictures and/or video, by other members. While none of the content we saw was inherently offensive or harmful, many of these projects require an adult skill level and shouldn't be attempted by children. Also, with user-created content that is constantly updated, there is no guarantee that something objectionable won't ever pop up. Also, there are alcoholic cocktail recipes on the site, and an entire channel of pranks and jokes.

  • Ease of use2
    Reading and using the site: Easy. Actually constructing some of the crafts and inventions described on the site: Anywhere from simple to so-difficult-you-need-an-engineering-degree.
  • Violence0
    Not applicable.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language1
    The content is written by site members who submit their own material. Some of it may contain mild profanity, but we didn't see much in our exploration of the app.
  • Consumerism1
    Not applicable.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking3
    There's a whole section for recipes, which includes many alcoholic cocktail recipes.
  • Privacy & safety3
    As a member you can communicate with other members through a series of
    message board forums. Most of the conversations we saw were tame with
    nothing really inappropriate going on, but Internet message boards are
    prone to abuse.
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Is it any good?

 

INSTRUCTABLES.COM is an amazingly impressive collection of creative DIY projects. It will show you how to build your own guitar, turn an old Rubik's Cube into a fortune-telling device, and build a SpongeBob pinata. Some of the "instructables" are a bit more dubious, though (instructions on how to hypnotize people) or sound like projects that just shouldn't be done by amateurs (like soldering a circuit board). But the positive content far outweighs the iffy stuff, and if a kid is monitored as to which projects he or she wants to try, Instructables.com could provide a fount of inspiration. A "Pro Membership," which frankly only offers highly technical features
that most kids wouldn't be interested in, costs $1.95 a month. You can
read and post to Instructables.com for free, though.

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Category:Education
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:Free
Publisher:Purple Robots, LLC
Version:1.0
Release date:July 17, 2010
Minimum software requirements:iOS 3.1.3 or later
This review of Instructables.com was written by

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