News Release

www.4kids.org Keeping Up with the Times

Kansas City, MO  (01/19/2006)  As its tenth anniversary approaches in May, the Universal Press Syndicate feature www.4kids.org is celebrating its 500th issue. 4kids appears in about 75 newspapers with a circulation total of about 3 million.

4kids is a weekly newspaper feature produced at the University of Kansas by a team of educators and students with support from the Advanced Learning In Technologies Education Consortia.

At a time when the Internet and World Wide Web were less prominent, 4kids was to serve as a tool to familiarize families with computers and technology. It functions as a resource for children, parents and teachers, to provide safe, kid-friendly, non-commercial Web sites and entertainment.

Each week, the 4kids team reviews children’s Web sites to feature three top-quality sites. The design has changed since 1996, but the kid-friendly content remains the same. Children’s Internet sites have also improved from a decade ago, providing more interactive sites.

“Looking at the links referenced in 1996 they were much more text based. The resources we take them to now are more interactive,” says 4kids Project Manager Melanie Bacon.

Recently, the featured sites have been focused on math and science as part of a nation wide endeavor to improve these areas.

“Educational trends are swaying us towards math, science and literacy. We want to make sure 4kids stays current and on the cutting edge of what education has deemed important,” adds 4kids Team Leader Leslie Blood.

The young staff helps to keep connected with its audience. Journalism students, supervised by professors, use the 4kids program as a training ground for reporting and research, assuring a product that captures all the latest trends and news. By using an active, enthusiastic style, the writers emphasize that kids are discovering, exploring and investigating to make learning as entertaining as possible.

In addition to the feature stories, an “Ask Amy” column fields hundreds of children’s

questions about anything from how to make a Web site to where to find an idea for a science project. Rather than provide kids with the answer, Amy points students in the right direction allowing them to navigate on their own. Amy also writes a monthly essay topic about subjects of interest to kids such as summer camps and rock ‘n’ roll. A monthly “Homework Helper” highlights a list of subject specific sites.

The “Ask Amy” column is named after University of Kansas student, Amy Schimmel, who started working at 4kids when she was 14-years-old. She says that she was the tech girl everyone went to for help in elementary school. The 4kids creators, who were working with her teachers at the time, sought her help later and hired her on the team.

The supporting Web site of the weekly feature also includes e-cards, safe surfing guidelines, message boards, educational projects and access to a searchable archive.

The 4kids team is reassured their efforts are well received by all the positive feedback they receive weekly from students, teachers and parents. Bacon says parents often contact her for educational resources and ideas. An occasional hand written letter from kids across the world makes its way across the 4kids’ desks. Communication is maintained between the staff and kids. Responding to questions via e-mail keeps kids coming back for more.

The times have changed, but the focus remains the same, to provide dependable Web resources for children and teachers.

“I hope children who visit 4kids online or read it in the paper are realizing that learning can be fun and that the Internet is a really safe and valuable resource in education,” says Blood.

4kids was originally created by KU faculty professor of education, Jerry Chaffin; director of technology, Frank Carey; and a former KU administrator, Paul Tangen. The project was funded by a federal grant and launched in 1996.

Creator(s):

Contact(s): Kathie Kerr

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