I have an idea… how about we talk about things we LIKE about the new handipoints site?
I love the new Handiland. I especially think younger kids will like earning the bonus points to buy things for their cat in the cat-a-log. Go to the Dressing Room to not only chose clothing items for their cat, but to chose what sort of cat they have. All the choices also give a brief description of the breed.
My other favorite thing about Handiland is the stamps and stamp collection books. Slightly older kids will love this. I know my 6 and 8 yr olds love collecting things, anything. Having a collection is the ultimate of cool to them.
So tell me what do you like? Do you have any questions about Handiland?
I do like the overall look and the new layout. Also, I love that you can use a URL to add your own photo onto a customized goals.
Comment by Marti — September 8, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
We just signed up (after the switch to the new site – so I can’t compare it to the old site – i did this on purpose – waited to sign up when I read that you were working on changes)
I love the look of the site – my kids were instantly drawn to it and wanted to explore all over the site. Very bright and graphic – great job!
My kids, 9 and 5 LOVE it – especially the 9 year old – he is crazy about the missions and stamp packs and he loves buying things for his cat with his bonus points.
We are still learning the system, and I am discovering that I have to remember to override the default points or the kids earn their rewards way to quickly! But we are loving the incentive that handipoints gives the kids. (and I love that I didn’t have to argue with them to get them to shower tonight – it’s on their list – they can check it off when they’re done!!)
Comment by Leanne — September 8, 2007 @ 10:59 pm
I just noticed new tasks are circles and tasks the children have been doing for a couple weeks are squares. Great idea. I love that they can quickly glance and see what is new for them to work on.
Comment by Michele — September 9, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
My daughter absolutely loves the points system and being able to collect items for her cat and stamps. I think the site looks good, though seems a little buggy sometimes (though I know it’s still a work in progress!). I noticed today that a task that was added, completed and graded for the Healthy Mission won’t let me add it as a task to her regular “To do” list (still showing that it’s done). Other than that, keep up the great work!
Comment by Nancy — September 10, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
Nancy,
Certain taks that your child does once (like, for example cleaning the bathroom) are checked off and remain checked off. That way your child doesn’t get to do the same task over and over to complete missions.
It’s up to you when you want to put these “once” tasks back in use. All you need to do is delete the “once” task from your Task Chat by pressing the red X all the way to the right. This opens it up to be added and checked off again!
Comment by Mary — September 10, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
We just fixed a bug with the help videos where they were not playing correctly on some browsers. You can access the videos by pressing the Help button on the upper right hand corner of any of the pages when logged into the application or by going to http://www.handipoints.com/help/.
Comment by Viva — September 11, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Hi, ABSOLUTEL GREAT SITE! I’ve just signed up and am excited to get my son to use it! I was wondering why the parents have to grade each task, is it possible to link the grading to the task chart so that it be graded automatically when the child ticks the task each day when complete?
Comment by Natasha Hailes — September 12, 2007 @ 5:54 am
Hi Natasha, we require parents to grade tasks because we want to encourage the kids to mark the tasks off for themselves. We also give kids Bonus Points that they can use in HandiLand to buy clothes and items for their Cats. To ensure that the kids are actually indeed doing the tasks, we we want the parents to “grade” them. At a minimum, you can think of grading as “approving” tasks that your kids have marked as complete.
From the posts and user feedback that we are seeing from our parents who joined prior to version 2, it seems like most parents were logging on behalf of their kids or with their kids and checking off the tasks for them. We are very excited to provide tools that the Parents can use, but our main goal at Handipoints is to create a fun online game and virtual world for your kids to get them excited about doing chores, learning, and having fun. So Parents, please please check out the Kids side of Handipoints with your children and encourage them to mark off their tasks themselves!
Comment by Viva — September 12, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Hi! I love the site!!! My daughter loves it too and has been doing tasks like crazy around the house in order to obtain her goal!
I was wondering if you could add a topic on the Parents Forum for parenting from two homes. This is something that I am doing and would like to talk to other parents on here who are also going through this.
Thanks and keep up the good work!!!!
Comment by Sarah — March 26, 2008 @ 8:31 pm
Where do you see how many referrals and how can you start a new topic here? I am new, sure you cannot tell that *wink*
Thanks!
Comment by Kara — May 29, 2008 @ 9:14 pm