About Children's Technology Review

Children's Technology Review (CTR) is an independent survey of commercial interactive media products designed for children, aged birth-to 15-years. These are the products that children use, both for fun and learning, at home and at school. They include software, video games, interactive toys, web sites that a child might visit, and so on. From a theoretical perspective, CTR exists in the space between child development and interactive media.

Have a look at the new monthly electronic format.
Download the May 2006 issue (a 2.1 MB PDF)

Frequently Asked Questions

• Mission statement: To help parents, librarians and educators find quality children's interactive media products.
• What forms of Children's Technology Review are available? CTR is available as a PDF or print periodical, a website with a searchable database, and monthly email review alerts. On April 1, 2006, CTR changed from a quarterly print publication to a monthly PDF/laser print format. Issues are designed to be stored in an three-ring binder.
• Who owns Children's Technology Review? Active Learning Associates, Inc., a privately held corporation located at 120 Main Street, Flemington, New Jersey, 08822 publishers Children's Technology Review.
• What is the correct name? In April 2005, Children's Software & New Media Revue was renamed, for the third time, to Children's Technology Review. In September 2001, the words "& New Media" were added to the masthead, to reflect our commitment to providing comprehensive coverage of all children's interactive media. The formal name is "Children's Technology Review."
• Do you have policies regarding how you handle subscriber information? We do not release our subscriber information and use email or address information to deliver paid for information, or for renewal notices (twice per year). Please see our disclaimer for details and other legal and copyright information.
• Do you review video games? Yes. We list all forms of interactive media.
• How long has CTR been around? The first issue of CTR was published in October of 1993. The review database contains over 7200 reviews dating back to 1985.
• How do you avoid conflicts of interest? It is important for our readers to know about all sources of potential bias, and for us to fully disclose them. CTR reviewers don't directly sell advertising, own stock, or serve as advisors for any company whose products we might review, and any online advertising fees are disclosed. Please see our editorial guidelines.
• What kinds of products do you review? All interactive children's media, including educational and entertainment CD-ROMs, children's video games, children's Internet sites and smart toys (toys with interactive electronic capabilities). As educational psychologists, our expertise is in evaluating the quality of the interaction between the child and the experience.
• For what ages do you review? From birth to 15 years.
• How many products have you reviewed? 9200 as of 2005. Of these, approximately 7200 are searchable online, as of April, 2006.
• Who assigns the ratings? One of two raters (Orr, Buckleitner) that have achieved inter-rater reliability (p < .05) on independent reviews of the same product using the Children's Software Evaluation Instrument. These results are continually checked against independent reviews of interns and test families.
• Why do you charge for access to parts of this site? On Nov. 6, 2000, we implemented a password system on our review and article archive database, limiting the ability to search to CTR subscribers.
• What happens to the products you review? CTR donates review products to the Mediatech Foundation, a non-profit community technology center located in the Flemington, NJ. At Mediatech, new products are tested. The center is open to the public.For more information, visit Mediatech's website.
• How can I get Children's Technology Review? By way of a secure subscription form or by calling 800-993-9499 from 9-5 EST. A subscription includes a password for the online database, which sent via email. There are discount subscription programs (such as site subscription options).

Testimonials (TO TOP)
"I've always considered Children's Software Revue to be the gold standard in reviewing kids' interactive entertainment and education---and I used to run a competing children's software review site. They are independent, extremely comprehensive, and fiercely devoted to what's best for kids." Michael Rogers, Editor and General Manager, Newsweek.MSNBC.com

"Today's technology has so much to offer our children; but who has the time to evaluate and sort out the many products? Educators and parents can rely on Children's Software & New Media Revue for thorough, honest, kid-tested reviews of all today's software." Mary C. Noschang, Editor in Chief, Today's Catholic Teacher

"One of the first online sites to provide unbiased and "education-friendly" reviews of software for students, Children's Software Revue continues to provide teachers and parents with the information needed to make informed purchasing decisions!" Kathy Schrock, Technology Administrator, Nauset Public Schools, and creator of Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators

"Children's Technology Review has consistently provided reliable, comprehensive reviews for all stages of a child's development. Their thorough information provides teachers and parents with the necessary information to make smart purchasing decisions on the best learning software for children." Lucille Renwick, Executive Editor, Instructor Magazine

In the News (TO TOP)
You can learn more about our work by linking to several articles that were in print and are online, such as the New York Times, CNN Headline News (as a QuickTime move), Time, USA Today, Modern Maturity, Early Childhood Today, The Washington Post, The Las Vegas Review-Journal, ABC News. Additionally, you can take a sneak peek inside our testing process by reading the Education Week article Reviewing Digital Content, or read David Pogue's discussion about the use of computers with preschoolers (New York Times/Circuits, March 22 2001). If you have the correct plug-in for your browser, you can also hear CTR's editor, Warren Buckleitner, review software on Scholastic's Teacher Radio, or comment on the use of technology in home schooling on NPR's All Thing's Considered.

February 2006, New York NY Toy Fair

March 27-30, 2006, Bologna Italy The Bologna Children's Book Fair (a one day Dust or Magic design institute by Warren Buckleitner done in cooperation with the Association of Educational Publishers Global Learning Initiative)

May 10-12, 2006 Los Angeles, CA, Electronic Entertainment Expo

Contact us for information on any of these events.

Reliable & Valid Reviews (TO TOP)
In order to increase the reliability and validity of our reviews, the following steps are taken.

• Reviewers use a form of the Children's Software Evaluation Instrument (Buckleitner, 1984). This instrument was created after formal studies on how children interact with a variety of interactive software products, and by applying generic child development and intrinsic motivation theory. The instrument helps our editors achieve a level of reliability in our ratings, and makes it easier to compare similarly designed products.
• CTR does not profit from the sales of award seals; and does not charge for (and monitors) quotes and endorsements. A publisher who displays a quote must follow a set guidelines to make sure the quote is not misleading. Any publisher who uses the "All Star Award" seal signs an appropriate use statement.
• The children's publishing industry is commercial and competitive. In an effort to protect the independent, critical nature of the reviews that appear in Children's Technology Review and this web site, the publishers of CTR (Active Learning Associates, Inc. Board of Directors) follow a set of editorial guidelines.

Workshops & Speaking Engagements
CTR editors provide inservice for teachers and library groups. Click here for details.

Sponsorship or Advertising Opportunities (TO TOP)
We welcome the support of qualified sponsors for our publication. Contact Bobbie Nester.

How Do I Submit My Products for Review? (TO TOP)
Please see our review guidelines for specific instructions on how to submit your products to Children's Technology Review.

Who Are the Reviewers? (TO TOP)
We're training new reviewers. Please contact us if you have an educational background and a strong interest in children's technology.

Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D. is Editor of Children's Technology Review and coordinator of the Dust or Magic Institute on Children's Interactive Media. He is a former classroom teacher (preschool, fourth and sixth grades) and teacher trainer for the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. He established Children's Technology Review with Ann Orr and Ellen Wolock in 1993 following ten years of research on software design, and has been awarded the SIIA's Codie Award for "Best Software Reviewer." From 1997-2003 he coordinated the Bologna New Media Prize, a global search for excellence in children's interactive media; and he is an advisor to the Consumer Union's Consumer WebWatch project. He holds a BS in Elementary Education (cum laude), an MS in Human Development and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. His dissertation examined the interaction styles of software interfaces. He is the Founder of the Mediatech Foundation, a community technology center in Flemington, NJ and is a Trustee of the Flemington Free Public Library.

A papers (feedback welcome).

• The Relationship Between Software Interface Instructional Style And The Engagement Of Young Children (a Michigan State University doctoral dissertation). Don't miss the anecdotal observations in Chapter 4, for observations on how young children approach a typical software interface. Everything else is pretty darn .... dry.
• The History of Technology in Literacy (one of my favorite projects to come out of four years of coursework at MSU, inspired both intrinsically and extrinsically by Taffy Raphael. Don't mind the typos; I couldn't find the final version).
• Computer Interfaces: Inquiry and Implications (a 1994 paper done with Noel Estabrook that gets at the roots of what is today called usability)
• The State Of Children's Software Evaluation--Yesterday, Today And In The 21st Century -- a discussion on "what is software" and who evaluates it.
• A "position paper" that addresses the on-going dialogue on the promise of technology in education in a form that hopefully makes some sense to a small school board; a.k.a., Comps Question #3.

Ann Orr, Ed.D. Contributing Editior, is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University. She has been reviewing software since 1994 and has taught in elementary, middle-school and higher education settings. She is the parent of three children. She holds her BA degree in education (certified in both general and special education), an MA degree in educational psychology, and a doctorate in education from the University of Michigan. Besides CTR, Ann writes for Today's Catholic Teacher and the Master Teacher Publications. She is a judge for the annual SIIA Codie Awards, the AEP awards, and teaches graduate courses at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. She has studied the socioemotional development of extremely low birth weight infants in their preschool years, and her current research interests include gender equity issues in interactive media and the use of PDAs in elementary classrooms.

How do I Subscribe? (TO TOP)
Just click here to complete a secure subscription form or call 1-800-993-9499 from 9:30 to 3:00 EST.