WORLD Watch News Review

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

There is a lot going on in the news today. Some of it is very important, but do you really want to expose your kids to everything out there? One solution for an approach to media literacy is WORLD Watch. This news service, aimed at Christian students in Junior High and High School gives a different approach to the news.

What is WORLD Watch?

First, this is an entirely streaming service for educational use. You sign up for a subscription, and you can start watching any of the daily newscasts, as well as access past archives. All videos are done with an eye for big news happenings, with some uplifting and educational segments mixed in. This is a Christian worldview product, so at least one of the additional segments usually highlights someone doing something inspirational in the name of service or God or others.

The news segments at the beginning are on the same topic as the things you may see in your mainstream newsfeed. During our month of watching, we saw segments on the Afghanistan withdrawal and natural disasters. We learned about the Olympics, fuel prices, and voting.

We also saw something that weren't covered so prominently in the news. We were shocked to learn about things in other countries, including persecution and regime changes. These little tidbits actually left my husband and I feeling more informed than if we were just watching our favored news channels.

How can you use it?

The entire daily news segment runs 15 minutes or less. We usually watched it in the evenings after dinner with the kids. I would bring my laptop to the table, as this was easiest. You can also stream it to your TV with a Google Chrome cast or other casting device, but you can also use Roku TV, Fire TV, and Apple TV apps and devices.

Neat extra features

Each day, I would get an daily reminder email letting me know about the day's news and what segments would cover. I could click to get directly to the entire newscast or choose to just have my kids watch one or two of the educational/inspiration feature stories instead.

Depending on the day, I felt that a heavy news segment just wasn't what we were looking to do, so I may skip it or only show the Feature Stories, which might cover animal migration or an archaeological discovery.

These Feature stories were usually something I could show each day, even on the days that I was feeling heavy from the news and needed a break from showing the hard-hitting new segments included in the beginning of the full broadcasts.

Other days, we were ready to hear everything the news briefs brought, so we would watch everything. I liked having the choice. We could also catch up if we were busy and missed a day or two. Watching the past week's news segments is very easy.

WORLD Watch Review Summary

Remember, this news service is from a Christian perspective, and while the news seemed accurate and well-reported, there is a Christian message of hope at the end of each day's news. This is often all that families may need to take the heaviness of news and put it into perspective. That, and the well-produced segments that had the "nightly news feel" without the opining, sarcasm, or conjecture often seen from mainstream news pundits felt like a reprieve for this family who had only recently allowed our kids to get back into the news.

WORLD Watch is also very non-denominational. Most would find the segments done by Christian journalists appropriate for Protestant or Catholic homes.

There is always at least one segment that was completely new to me, whether it be a story from the natural world, science, or culture. I felt WORLD Watch expanded my grown-up horizons with just a 15-minute daily commitment. If I felt this way, imagine how my kids encountered it.

For those looking to stay informed but not saturated with the break-neck speed of today's digital news cycle, WORLD Watch is a worthy choice with a noble aim of Biblical discernment. I would recommend it for a news literacy option for Junior High and High School homeschooled students.