News about Q-files

Digital or printed resources? Why Q-files wins hands down.

January 04, 2019

All of us who work in the world of books — readers, authors, librarians and publishers (most certainly including the Q-files team) experience inner conflict when it comes to digital publishing. We are book lovers and are devoted to the printed page. Yet we have to accept that we are now living in a digital world, so to ignore its obvious advantages would be absurd, no matter how grudgingly we feel about reading from a screen. As it happens, the physical book has survived — and thrived,
Pages for younger students go live

July 18, 2018

While schoolchildren and teachers in many places are about to enjoy their summer holidays, here at Q-files we are busy getting ready for the start of the new school year in September. A number of improvements are already making their appearance. These include the introduction of a younger version of the site, intended for 6-8 year olds, which we call LET'S EXPLORE. The LET'S EXPLORE the Earth section was launched a few weeks ago. LET'S EXPLORE Science is going live in the next few days. LET'S
Great review of Q-files in the School Library Journal!

July 17, 2018

We're delighted that Q-files.com has been given the seal of approval by an influential voice amongst US school librarians. "Browsers and researchers alike will appreciate this resource aimed at upper elementary and middle school students", writes Bob Hassett of Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA, reviewer for the School Library Journal. "Abundant visuals, enticing sidebars, and solid material will draw in scholars and educators alike." When we first conceived Q-files it was always
LET’S EXPLORE - new sections of Q-files for younger users

May 02, 2018

EAGLE-EYED Q-FILERS will already have spotted that the site caters for different reading levels. For example, Electricity is perfect for those children coming across the subject for the first time, whereas other pages in the same section, such as Batteries and cells or Electric generators and motors, are aimed at those who are ready to dig deeper. There is, as every teacher knows, a wide range of abilities in every class. This is precisely why we at Q-files tend to mix things up a bit,
New pages for Spring 2018

May 02, 2018

THE Q-FILES GARDEN OF KNOWLEDGE is becoming larger, richer and more varied by the week. Fittingly, this spring, new plants are pushing up in every corner of the plot. Exciting blooms are appearing even in the PREHISTORIC zone, perhaps the last place where you would expect to find them. Here, for example, is a new page on the mighty sauropod dinosaur Apatosaurus, mystifyingly left out of our original line-up. We’ve also incorporated the latest research findings into the Story of Humans, Stone
We’ve got American history covered

March 01, 2018

The North American section in HISTORY on Q-files has just been substantially expanded, improved and updated. There are new pages on the Native Americans (Ancient North America, Timeline of Native American history and Iroquois) including major additions to the original Native Americans pages. We’ve added detailed timelines and extra information on the American Revolution and American Civil War pages. There’s a new page containing biographies of all forty-five US presidents, and major new
New features to enhance your Q-files experience

March 01, 2018

We’re delighted to announce the arrival of several new features to the site, all specially designed to allow more users than ever before to make the best possible use of Q-files’ superb content. Read Aloud With just one click, the text on any Q-files page can now be read aloud in a natural, life-like voice. (We were asked to select an accent from a number of possibilities and went with British, simply because Q-files is British!) The words on the screen are highlighted simultaneously, so you
Coming soon: Read Aloud, Word Look-Up, Instant Translate and Citation Tool features

January 02, 2018

We’re adding several new features to Q-files to allow more users than ever to read and understand our pages. With just one click, the text on a Q-files page can be read aloud in a natural, life-like voice. The words on the screen are highlighted simultaneously, so users can easily follow the text as it is being spoken. An audio version of Q-files pages can be downloaded for offline listening. The Word Look-Up feature allows users to select a word and find its definition in the dictionary.
Ten reasons why every school library should have Q-files

January 02, 2018

1. It’s a massive school library in itself, covering all the sciences, natural history, technology, history, space, prehistory, religions, nations, arts, the Earth — everything. 2. It’s completely trustworthy. Every page has been carefully checked for accuracy by a team of expert consultants. You’ll find their credentials listed on a special page on the Q-files site. 3. It’s specially designed for children. All our pages are written by specialist children’s writers working alongside specialist
New pages for 2018

January 02, 2018

Q-files moves with the times. Stuff happens, new discoveries take place, the world changes. Besides, we will never be content to stand still; we want always to be bigger and better. So Q-files is constantly being updated, improved and added to. We’ve recently completed a whole new section in the GEOGRAPHY file: US States. There’s a page on each state, covering its geography, climate, economy and the origin of its name. Along with photos, a flag and a factfile, there’s a full historical
Is your school looking for something like Wikipedia… but which isn’t Wikipedia?

September 20, 2017

Wikipedia is, of course, the go-to reference source on the web. It has its critics, but its depth, range and sheer convenience are unarguable. But if you want an online reference source that is specially written and designed for children, one that has been carefully checked and verified by experts, one that is completely safe to browse, with no irritating ads or links to dodgy sites … where do you go? Q-files.com, the new online children’s encyclopedia, meets all those criteria. Created by a
Sign up for Q-files!

May 18, 2017

Users of Q-files.com have been enjoying free use of the site for somewhat longer than expected, but now we are almost ready to go with our subscription system. This will be implemented on Monday 22nd May. For school and colleges, we are offering 30 days’ FREE TRIAL, then an annual fee of $125 / £100 for up to 250 learners, plus $0.50 / £0.40 for each additional learner. So if you are a school with, say, 400 learners, you will pay $125 plus $75 (150 additional learners), a total of $200 (In
Why Q-files is great value for money

May 11, 2017

This week, Q-files.com, the online children’s encyclopedia, will become a subscription-only website. Yes, we know — it’s a shame it won’t be free any more. But let’s face it, Q-files is still an amazing bargain. If you are a school, for just 40 pence / 50 cents per learner per year* you will be acquiring what can only be described as a complete education kit: an entire school library / hundreds of lesson plans / tens of thousands of images for use in class or homework. (If you are an individual
How can Q-files help with learning?

April 28, 2017

As an online encyclopedia, Q-files.com is a vast store of general knowledge that children can visit to read up about…well, pretty well anything. It’s comprehensive, in-depth, expert-verified — and brimming with facts, diagrams and videos. (And it covers a wide range of subjects that are not necessarily part of the school curriculum: space, dinosaurs, pirates, castles, world religions, endangered animals, etc.) So Q-files supports classwork and homework exactly in the same way that a good library