When using the Online Kids section of the Public Library Edition, I clicked to enter the "World of Animals" section. A number of pages of animal pictures are available to choose from to look up information about those animals. I looked at the echidna and brought up the "exhibit" page.Then I wanted to compare the echidna to the porcupine, so I clicked on the "Compare" button below the picture of the echidna. A display came up on the right saying "Choose an animal 2" but there was nowhere for me to click to choose the second animal. Through trial and error I found that I needed to first close the "exhibit" page, and that would take me back to the pages with the animal pictures to choose from. It was frustrating that the "Compare" option was displayed but there was no indication given that I needed to close out of the exhibit to get back to be able to choose my second animal.
When I finally did figure out how to do a comparison, I learned that the echidna is considerably smaller and lives longer than the porcupine and is a carnivore (as opposed to the porcupine being a herbivore). The echidna, like the platypus, is a mammal that lays eggs. I also looked up the platypus on this edition, and the article appears to be identical with that on the "Kid's Page."
After looking at the Info Finder article about porcupines, it became obvious that the Kids' version information is done in a "generally speaking" sort of style. Some of the information differs a good bit between the two regarding specifics about porcupines (different species, where they live, their sizes, etc.).
It appears that the Online Reference Center article on Myanmar is identical to the one in World Book Advanced. The breakdown of article sections on the left would make it easy for someone to quickly go to the specific information. The "Related Information" section on the right would be a good source of additional information for doing a report, etc. Helpful "Study Skills Information" could be a great asset to someone preparing a report as well.
Great observations about the Public Library edition. Yes, the articles in the Public and School editions are the same. The main difference is between the special features.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to do an animal comparison. In World Book School Edition, World Book Kids, there is a "Compare Places" feature that allows you to compare countries, states and continents.