Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/trends-in-software-for-children-under-six/5016166/
Two aging, albeit well-preserved, children’s technology veterans discuss the state of children’s software:“I’m thrilled that computer monitors seem to be improving at the same rate my eyes are going bad,” said Warren Buckleitner. Buckleitner’s eyes have good reason for blurring �" his team at Children’s Software Revue has reviewed 8,675 children’s software titles since 1984 �" the year he first published the Survey of Early Childhood Software while at the High/Scope Foundation. Like a software census of sorts, the database that forms the core of this work makes it possible to examine trends in children’s interactive publishing over the years. Here’s a discussion of the past, present, and future of children’s interactive media.
KALINOWSKI: So . . . what is the current state of children’s software?
BUCKLEITNER: If you define “children’s software” as CD-ROMs for Windows and Macintosh computers, things are pretty anemic. Consider that last year, just 257 new titles were released. Compare that with 812 new releases in 1998 when the market peaked.
KALINOWSKI: What happened?
BUCKLEITNER: Young children are swimming in a sea of interactive options that didn’t exist five years ago. Besides CD-based software like Millie’s Math House, these also include videogame systems, web sites, and interactive toys such ...