Information Architecture in the Virtual Environment: An Evaluative Study of Children's Learning Sites

Research Abstract

Children's learning sites are portals for effective child participation, providing means to receive feedback, suggestions and feedback from children and their parents. Information is also categorized into key and sub-components, making it a good example of information architecture. Children's information architecture must meet their needs, according to their age, cognitive ability, language skills, sensory motor skills, etc. The study aims to evaluate the most popular free learning sites for children with a focus on information architecture and the extent of early childhood participation in these sites. These six sites are: Boys and Girls, Read Write Think Parent Resources, Arcademy Skill builders, Science Museums Science Fair Project Ideas Science Education, How Stuff Works. The study found several results, the most important of which are: two sites illustrate the relationship between the elements of information through the sitemap, four sites have the horizontal and vertical lists of the information elements; four sites also have search mechanisms; and most of the sites have the availability of The participation of children by receiving their opinions, suggestions and inquiries through the site, and thus help in improving the site and service provided by providing more information or modifying some of the available information and others. Among the most important recommendations of the study is the need to enhance the participation of children in their learning sites by participating in the design of the site, modifying it, deleting or adding any information, and clarifying the method of classification using colored cards and putting them in place according to their hierarchy in the subjects of the site ; sites should have availability of mechanisms to evaluate the on-site search and navigation methods, with child consultation, and mechanisms to evaluate results in terms of number, relevance, search terms, concepts and time taken to retrieve them.

Research Keywords

Information Architecture, Information Engineering, Virtual Environment, Learning Sites for Children.