Toddlers’ TV favourites to feature on new interactive web site for preschoolers
September 17, 2007 by Andy Merrett · Leave a Comment
A new website — ClickAndPlay.com — has launched to encourage computer literacy amongst preschoolers, helping to boost their self-confidence at increasingly IT-centric schools.
To add to the fun, various hit TV characters, including Bob the Builder, feature on the site.
Users can sign up for a free subscription to the site, though it does require a PC-only piece of software to be downloaded and installed.
According to British Education Communication and Technology Agency (BECTA), the UK is ranked fourth in Europe for the highest number of internet connected computers in schools.
Alastair Gregory, MD of ClickandPlay, said that children shouldn’t spend hours in front of a computer, at the detriment of physical exercise and social skills, but that it’s as vital for preschoolers to learn how to use a computer mouse as it is how to hold a pencil.
“Parents can help prepare their child for school by adding computer time into their day-to-day play,” he said.
ClickandPlay features a range of interactive games that teach a child how to move a mouse around a screen, how to move forward and back to new pages, how to use a keyboard and how to send emails. Children love the email application as they can send a letter, with their parents help, to their favourite character, and then receive a personalised e-mail in return, written in the character’s tone of voice.
Other features include an art package that allows children to draw and paint in ClickandPlay. They receive backgrounds, stamps and animated stickers at the beginning of their subscription and can earn more as they do the activities and win stars. These can be used to make art that can be printed out or sent to the characters.
