ASSOCIATES (vol. 6, no. 3, March 2000) - associates.ucr.edu

by

Michael D. Brooks
Acquisitions/Systems Technician
St. Joseph’s University
brooks@sju.edu
http://www.sju.edu/~brooks

     The Internet is literally a virtual world of information dotted with thousands of places to visit. Unfortunately, many of those places are not kid-friendly. But there is one place on the Web (among many) that is. It is The White House for Kids Website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/kids/html/kidshome.html) . A site designed with children and young adults in mind. The information on the site’s various pages, though geared for kids, is quite informative to the curious adult, as well.

     From the White House for Kids page, the Inside the White House page, to Historic Moments of the Presidency page, there is something of interest for kids of all ages. The site is colorful, the information is short and easy to read, but the links are not always clear. And if a visitor to the site does not start on the Welcome to the White House for Kids page, navigating could be a bit cumbersome.

     A good example is the menu bar graphic that appears at the bottom of some pages. It is a picture of the White House, six stars, and a picture of Socks the cat and Buddy the dog. By clicking on a numbered star, a visitor is taken to another part of the site for kids. By clicking on Socks and Buddy, each visitor is sent to the Socks and Buddy VIP Tour page, which explains what the stars do and how to use them to navigate around the site. But clicking on the icon of the White House will send a visitor to other pages outside of the kids’ pages. Not a problem for adults wanting to view other White House material a bit more closely aligned with their pursuits. However, it could be a bit disconcerting for the juvenile visitor.

     Another minor problem is that some of the pages do not have a "back" or hyperlink that will permit a visitor to return to a previous page. For example, The History of the White House page has only an arrow pointing right accompanied by the word "more," which takes visitors forward. Subsequent pages allow a visitor to move forward but not backward. A visitor wishing to view a previous page has to actually click the back button on the navigation bar of their browser.

     Overall, the site is still a good bet for some useful information for that pesky book report on the goings on at the White House.

     For those who need just a bit more information than a book report would require, need only to click (http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html) to begin their journey on The Welcome to the White House page.

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