IndyKids is a great online news site that will inspire students to keep up with current events. Articles are written by child journalists ranging from ages 9-16 who have been through the IndyKid reporter journalism workshop. Students who are not IndyKid journalists are also encouraged to contribute articles and opinion pieces. IndyKids articles are well-written and include a diversity of meaningful topics and social justice issues covering topics about the world, politics, science and the environment. They also have book and movie reviews. The goal is to inspire children to take an interest in and encourage critical thinking about current events and social justice issues. The print edition comes out five times a year, while the website is active with daily articles, interviews, reviews and podcasts. Homepage topics include Nation & World, Culture & Activism, Science & the Environment, Animals, and Education. Articles are accompanied by colorful pictures. The site is appealing and maintains a mature feel that one would expect in a serious news site. The articles are a few paragraphs long and since they are written by peers, the reading will be manageable for most students. Vocabulary terms that might be new or difficult for students are highlighted and then defined at the end of the article. Articles can be searched by topic, so students can browse archives. The website does not have ads, but does have sidebars with information, so it might feel visually busy for some students. IndyKids is an all around fantastic way to inspire children to read the news and become involved. Knowing that their peers are out there getting the content and writing about these issues will be motivating to many student readers. And for children interested in writing, click on the Write for IndyKids tab for information about how to submit a piece and/or take their Kid Reporter Journalism Workshop.

• Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
• Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
• Presents educational concepts accurately
• Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
• Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
• Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
• Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

• Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
• Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
• Visually appealing to children in the target age range
• Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
• Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
• Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
• Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

• Has a free or trial version
• Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
• Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
• Student should be able to use independently after first use
• Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
• Multiple users can save a profile
• Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
• Can play without sound and not distract others
• Students can save work between sessions
• Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
• Requires registration before using the first time
• Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
• Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
• Overall - Easy to use

• Attention
• Visually distracting with too many pictures, problems or moving objects
• Visual Discrimination
• Visually distracting with too many pictures, problems or moving objects