Kids’ ed sites back in vogue?

I feel like I’m back in Web 1.0, the downloadable, professionally-produced-content Web, when I read about educational sites for kids in the tech news media. They’ve been around for a long time, but they certainly haven’t been in the news. I guess what’s new is that the focus really is now shifting from textbooks and educational software to educational Web sites kids can interact with. For example, Starfall.com, which “opens access to learning exercises for free online,” CNET reports – kind of like the seasoned PBSKids.org. “Like a Sesame Street program, the free Web site teaches kids their ABCs and the basics of reading through the use of audio and visual phonetics, games and animations. Exercises on Starfall include sounding out vowels (‘ah’), reading books like The Little Hen and decorating a virtual character.” The other new-old genre is education-related sites for parents, such as the longstanding FamilyEducation.com and the startup Education.com, recently reviewed by SafeKids.com’s Larry Magid for CBSNEWS.com.