KM and I poked around the site this morning and we were both very impressed with the content, variety of topics covered, as well as the quality of the videos - even in full screen mode the quality was really good!MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids, is a dynamic, interactive site, which encourages individual expression and participation through video submissions from children worldwide. Through these video pod casts we hope to create a community of children, who learn the art of self-expression and storytelling through video.
In the beginning, the video pod casts highlighted the people, events and history of New York City. As this site grows through children’s submissions, we hope to highlight the people and events of other towns, cities and nations. To date we have video podcasts from California, Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, and Maryland. We are always open to the people and events in your corner of the world. - from site
KM's favorite episode that she watched was Juggle for Kids and she "thought it was great and really interesting."
As a homeschooling mom my favorite feature was the Learning Corner -
Each Learning Corner is designed by an educator to be easily integrated into individual curriculum, as well as State, and National Standards.
Click here for The Learning Corner Page
It is also so convenient that they have posted links to various things mentioned within the episode right on the video page, as well recommended book suggestions. Which is so awesome to be able to have the content references to continue a discussion or expand on the ideas presented!
They also have some really cool contests that seem to cross curriculum areas - ANOTHER FANTASTIC feature for homeschoolers!
This is sure to be an incredible, fun and FREE addition to our current curriculum!
With that being said though - I would like to say that the one thing I am a little uncomfortable with is the registration questions. You don't need to sign up for an account to view any of the content on the site, but in order to submit or enter contests you do - here is where I feel the uncomfortable part - and the child is asked to submit first and last name as well as their full address and phone number. They do ask the children to submit their parents email to approve the account, but I have heard many a story of kids setting up separate accounts to approve these things themselves. Here is their explanation of how it works -
We have set up the Meet Me at the Corner account in such a way that unless parents confirm the child's account, the child won't be able to log on to the website. So, when you create a new account, one mail is sent to child's email id and another is sent to parent's email id. To activate the account, both the child and the parent must click on the confirmation link in the email notice. Once both confirm, the account is activated and the child can log on and submit content there on. - from FAQ page
I, personally, will be really thinking about whether I let KM set up an account or not. However, since you can access the content without registration I do still HIGHLY recommend the site!
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