NDCS Buzz

National Deaf Children's Society

Speak up, sign up

Genre: Children's Website
Released: 2009

The NDCS required a dynamic web presence to support hearing impaired children.

4T2 recommended that two separate age-specific sites were developed - one for teens, and one for younger children. This approach allowed site subject matter and writing styles to be tailored to each age group. It also meant that some social networking features could be made available to teenagers that wouldn't have been appropriate for younger children. The completed sites make extensive use of animated Flash interfaces and embedded sign language videos. This makes interaction a richer and more enjoyable experience for children. It also improves ease of access to information such as local event listings. These can now be viewed through interactive maps, so kids can immediately spot if there are events that appeal to them in their area. These websites feature a significant amount of interactive content; making everything from form completion to event maps significantly more instinctive and fun for children to use. The teenage site has a number of social network tools enabling members to make friends and share experiences with people experiencing the same issues as they face from around the UK. A problem shared... These networking tools were developed in consultation with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), to ensure child safety issues were fully addressed. Functionality includes automatic notification to site moderators of suspicious content or activity as well as the ability for children to report their own concerns. 4T2 would like to thank its client Egmont Magazines for donating the games arcade system we had previously developed for Toxic Magazine for use on this website.

The Client's View

4T2 have delivered a site way above what I'd expected and the support has been second-to-none.

Ross Pullar
NDCS

THE CHALLENGE

  • Allow deaf children to share their experiences and meet new friends
  • Ensure major consultation with child online safety organisations and design tools to suit their requirements and recommendations

THE SOLUTION

  • A modern and stylish website deaf children can be proud of
  • Moderation company in place to help ensure safety
  • Many social network tools from avatar builders to messaging systems