KidKam Makes Video Streaming Safe, Fun and Educationally Meaningful For Kids
Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 04, 2015 -- Part of revenue donated to schools
With thousands of handpicked and expert-reviewed videos, just-launched KidKam has created an online community that makes it safe and simple for children to find quality videos about topics they want to explore. KidKam offers a portal to safe, fun and educational videos from around the web, without the risk of stumbling upon inappropriate content. It also empowers adults to better control what their kids watch through powerful and secure parental controls and customizable settings.
The service launches at a critical time, as children’s media and consumer advocates recently filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission that Google’s supposedly child-friendly video app, YouTube Kids, is laden with inappropriate content for kids and enables them to access dangerous and sexually explicit content, along with advertisements.
“Parents and teachers deserve safe, enjoyable online experiences for their kids or students,” said Zac Corrigan, KidKam co-founder and CEO. “That’s why we employ teachers and pediatricians to handpick, screen, and evaluate every single one of the 10,000+ videos available in KidKam. We trust professionals who have experience and training in child development — not algorithms — to know what videos are meaningful, age appropriate, and right for kids.”
Kid and Classroom-Friendly Content
Parents and teachers are always concerned about what kids are watching, but not always able to monitor every second of their online video viewing. KidKam helps parents and teachers match the curiosities and interests of kids with the best videos the Internet has to offer, even when adults are out of the room. The KidKam video library, which is actively curated to ensure that quality videos on a breadth of educational topics are included, supports Pre-K through 6th grade children in their safe exploration of math, reading, animals, music, sports, inventions, art, Minecraft and more.
Kids and families can browse videos in 18 categories or safely search for clips on particular topics. Children can learn how bread is made or how to grow a crystal. For children curious about dinosaurs, KidKam can offer a look at their extinction, a read-aloud of the book Dinosaur Roar and an animated rap song that teaches about Tyrannosaurus Rex. For the family that’s artsy-craftsy, there are more than 200 videos to discover.
Teachers will find videos that support learning in all subjects. With tags referencing the relevant Common Core State Standards, video search for educators looking for curricular connections is simplified.
“KidKam makes it easy for teachers to use video in the classroom by providing trustworthy videos that were screened by other teachers,” said Nick Lind, KidKam co-founder and a kindergarten teacher in Boston, Mass. “Our KidKam screeners already know what works best in the classroom, and we work very closely with them to ensure we’re providing a well-organized, diverse blend of videos covering a wide range of topics that are easy to find and access.”
Features
KidKam parental controls allow parents to customize the KidKam experience and manage the amount of time and types of videos their children can watch on KidKam. Custom features include the ability to create playlists, to set custom age, category, and tag filters, and to set screen time limits.
A parent or teacher can develop a customized playlist for the outer space enthusiast so he can easily return to his favorite astronaut and space videos, or be introduced to new ones. If an adult wants to limit the types of videos kids can see, advanced controls can exclude categories and tags. For example, if a parent wanted to make watching Minecraft videos a special treat for his child, he could disable Minecraft videos from being displayed, turning them on only for limited times. Similarly, if a parent did not want their child to see any “unboxing” videos they could disable those videos entirely. Because a passcode is required to access account information, parents and teachers can prevent kids from changing any of the settings. “While all of the videos in KidKam have been screened for age appropriateness by one of our expert screeners, our goal was to build tools that would empower parents to further refine the content to match their own tastes and preferences,” said Zac Corrigan.
Parent subscriber Jennifer Olson from Calumet, Mich., says her family has found KidKam to be a community they trust and love. “My son says, ‘I LOVE KidKam!’ Thank you so much for providing a safe, educational/entertaining site for kids! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. I tell every parent I run into about your site.”
Pricing, Availability, and Social Responsibility
KidKam provides a free version of the system to educators that includes unlimited use of all features For families, parents can sign up for a Basic Account for free that offers unlimited video access, basic filters, and the creation of two custom playlists. Custom filters, subscription to screeners, and screen time controls are features of the Advanced Account available for $3.99 per month.
Revenue generated at KidKam pays its expert teachers and doctors, but is also gifted to local schools. For every paid subscriber, KidKam gives back $1 per month to the subscriber’s local PTO/PTA. Local schools should register their PTO or PTA with KidKam, so subscribers can easily associate with their community school. KidKam will also reach out to schools in subscriber communities to help them register and benefit from KidKam subscribers.
About KidKam
KidKam empowers parents and educators to regain control over how kids watch videos online. We employ experts – teachers and pediatricians – to hand-pick and screen videos from around the web, and reorganize them into a separate platform that is 100% kid and classroom friendly. We trust the judgment of child development experts to determine which videos are appropriate for kids, not anonymous reviewers, crowdsourcing, or computer algorithms. Go to http://www.KidKam.com.
Contact: Debra Z. Roth, debrazroth.rothcommunicating(at)gmail(dot)com, 703-867-7406
Ashleigh Cannon, ashleigh(at)wardcirclestrategies(dot)com, 202-534-9000
Debra Roth, Ward Circle Strategies, +1 (703) 867-7406, [email protected]
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