TOS Crew Review -- Web Design for Kids

A quiet weekday afternoon in the summer -- too cold to swim, too wet to play in the yard, light school work and chores already done.


Now what? The DVD cover caught my 12 year old's eye and he popped it in. As I finished dinner prep in the kitchen I looked over and saw him absorbed. Then he was gone. Back again, gone again, back again. It would be helpful if we had a laptop I suppose. :-)


What had he discovered? A wonderfully straight-forward, simple enough for a child to understand, intro to web design and HTML.


He didn't need any encouragement from me to watch the video completely through, and he didn't need any help from me to accomplish the tasks that the instructor, Brian Richardson (creator of Web Design for Kids), so thoroughly explained for his audience.

We loved:

• Easy to follow. Clear screen shots to follow along with, basic instructions, and step-by-step teaching
• Can be started with or without internet access
• Opens up a door to learning and creativity. With the foundational information that this video presents you can take some solid steps toward basic web page creation, or just have a lot of fun trying out different codes, graphics, and color combinations.
• A 12 year old could easily follow this independently.
• Now I know how to spot faulty codes, change text color, make words move, and a few other useful html skills.
  

We tweaked:

• Don't know if it qualifies for tweaking, but we found it much easier to watch right on our computer since we don't have a laptop. This worked well with half the screen showing the video, and the other half showing the notepad that we typed on.

Challenges:

• For slow typers it can be difficult to keep up, but the pause button is just a click away. We found it helpful to work in pairs on this project so we could enjoy each other's progress and help pause and type as needed.

On the website you can watch a quick one minute clip of the video and view samples of web pages other students have created using this class. The DVD runs approximately 1 1/2 hours broken into 7 sections plus bonus material.


He is currently offering this basic HTML introduction for $19.99 plus shipping with a money back guarantee. If you are interested in getting a grip on the basics of HTML, need something to keep a technologically enraptured child productively engaged, or maybe you are looking for material for a little computer unit in your homeschooling, this video can satisfy any of those needs.


For more reviews check out the TOS Crew's blog