SCIENCE MADE SIMPLE

Bitesize is the BBC’s multimedia revision service for 13- and 14-year olds which attracts 390,000 unique users per week during the run-up to the KS3 tests. It is used by around 60% of all KS3 students, helping them with their exam revision by presenting a subject’s key facts and concepts in a simple, clear and engaging manner.

Each topic is broken up into ‘Revision Bites’, containing subject information, and ‘Test Bites’, which test users’ knowledge of the subject. Test activities are created to accompany each section of the Bitesize website.

The BBC asked Preloaded to develop 23 Science activities for the site to work seamlessly with the ‘revise’ and ‘test’ sections of the site.

GETTING A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

The Science subjects were divided into Biology, Chemistry and Physics and the activities were designed to give access to a level of gameplay not available through textbooks or school lessons.

We wanted to make players feel the hands-on nature of the game, and to help kids explore the topic in an interesting and unconventional way, whilst maintaining a high quality and semi-televisual style.

Each activity is made up of an introduction, followed by hands-on interactions exploring the activity’s topic. ‘Refresh’ sections have also been included to allow for recapping and replaying parts of the activity. They are all unique in terms of content whilst tone and user experience are consistent across sections, ensuring an enjoyable and easy-to-use experience. A couple of different voiceover artists were chosen for each activity’s bespoke script to ensure they remained distinct.

THE RESULTS

During a single week at the busiest time of the year, the KS3 Bitesize site gets over 300,000 visits and 5.5 million pages are viewed, across Science, Maths and English.

The Science activities are being viewed in full by those using them, and the top pages with the longest stay are all Science activities.