Richard’s Educational Technology Blog

When I first found Alexa.com I though “oh boy, what a great way to see how much traffic is coming to my sites!” Unfortunately, as I’ve used it I’ve found that it is not very reliable. For example on one of my sites, www.OrtizPots.com, I have been working on adding new content. As I have done that, I have seen a steady increase in traffic. However, Alexa shows that it is steadly decreasing. In all fairness, Alexa is probably working - HOWEVER it is important to remember what Alexa does:
* it gives you the amount of traffic of people who have downloaded the Alexa toolbar (which is not everyone)
* it only tells you the PC users who have visited your site (Alexa does not count Mac users)
So, if you do use Alexa, just be wary of the results and check everything against the stats on your webserver.

Recently I heard that television watching in young children is strongly correlated to ADHD and other related problems. This is an important question as we consider the place for non-interactive media in our society. An interesting article called Effects of Electronic Media on Children Ages Zero to Six: A History of Research is available for anyone interested in learning more. The article, from the Kaiser Family Foundation, summarizes the effects of electronic media, such as television, on children ages zero to six years old. “Recent studies indicate that even the youngest children in the United States are using a wide variety of screen media. Some children’s organizations have expressed concerns about the impact of media on young children; others have touted the educational benefits of certain media products.”

>View the full article .