One of the most important gifts you can give your child is the gift of knowledge. Parents today are increasingly turning to the Internet for excellent learning programs suitable for children as young as toddlers. It’s not using the computer or tablet as a babysitter, but rather, a desire to help kids become tech-savvy from an early age and to take full advantage of having the World Wide Web at our fingertips.
There are plenty of points to consider when choosing an online learning tool for your child. How old are your kids? What are their academic strengths and weaknesses? How do they learn best? Then, of course, there are the worries all parents have: Is the website safe? How much will it cost?
Methodology:
In our ranking of the 10 best online learning tools for kids, we took into account all of these factors and more:
- We considered the comprehensiveness of an online learning program based on the subject matter covered in the curriculum and any quantitative data to back up the tool’s effectiveness.
- To understand safety, we looked at factors like data collection and encryption and whether the site had advertisements or external links that could lead kids down the wrong path on the Web – possibly to viruses or inappropriate content.
- Activities scores factor in the quantity, quality, variety, and level of interactivity found in an online learning platform’s content.
- Sites with the most high-quality materials and the greatest assortment of content types earned the best scores.
- Parents’ reviews of how much their children enjoyed using the platform played a part in determining their score for the subjective factor of fun.
- Finally, because sticking to a budget is important for families, we consider the price – and more importantly the value – of the online learning tool.