Using the Internet . . . Safer and Smarter
Highlights from a presentation by Yvette Johnson of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
Safety Sites to Educate Parents
There are excellent Internet sites available to educate parents about the safe use of the Internet by children.
The "Media Awareness Network," developed and maintained by a national coalition in Canada, is a good place to start. The site contains excellent discussions of each of the following:
- Web sites
- Chat rooms
- Instant messaging
- Newsgroups
- Filtering tools
- Tracking where kids have been on the Internet (Web surfing history, cache files, cookies)
- Family online agreements
- Online predators
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/internet/index.cfm
Family Online Agreements
A family online agreement establishes family rules and guidelines for Internet use. Your rules should be designed to help children know:
- Proper "netiquette"
- How to behave when something unexpected occurs online
- How to protect themselves and their family online
Rules should be specific, and all parties should sign the agreement.
The Media Awareness Network include good suggestions for Family Online Agreements.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/internet/safe_passage_parents/index.cfm
Safety tips for parents
- Keep the computer in a room other than the child's bedroom.
- Set up an agreement and guidelines with your child.
- Understand the services that your child uses online. If you do not understand them, have your child teach you.
- Investigate blocking and screening services offered by your Internet service provider.
- Spend time online with your child so you can set a good example of online behavior.
Warning signs that your child is using the Internet inappropriately:
- Your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night.
- Your child is receiving phone calls from people you don't know or is making phone calls to numbers you do not recognize.
- Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from people you do not know.
- Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen when you walk in.
- You find disturbing Web sites in a search history.
- Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.
Further discussions on this site include:
- Cookies
- E-mail attachments
- Protecting your online identity
- Avoiding common scams
- Hacking and security
There are also links to other sites, including Cybercrime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Kids, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Homework and the Internet
A recent poll, conducted by the PEW Research Center for the People and the Press and reported by Reuters, showed that 73% of students ages 12-17 in the United States (17 million) have Internet access.
The PEW Research Center surveyed 800 students and found that:
- 94% use the Internet for school research.
- 41% use e-mail to contact teachers or other students about homework.
- 96% of teachers said knowledge and use of the Internet is an "essential" aspect of communication.
Homework and the Internet - the down side
- Internet use makes cheating easier.
- Copying information from a Web site and inserting it in a paper is easy. So is using prepared papers that can be purchased (or given away) on the Internet.
- Cheating increases as a student gains more experience on the Internet.
We must teach our children to become critical thinkers. With a book, you know who wrote it and you can assess its scholarship. It is imperative that we do the same with Internet sites. Ask these questions:
- Who is the source of the information?
- What are you getting?
- When was the site created?
- Where are you?
- Why are you here?
- How can you tell what's what?
Source: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/internet/fact_or_folly_parents/index.cfm
Filtering Issues
Filtering software is no substitute for parental supervision and has some drawbacks. Most filters let some objectionable sites through. Savvy kids can get around filters by disabling them. Filtering software also blocks many sites that offer useful information to students.
As a parent, you should explore all options that make you comfortable in your home. Work with your Internet service provider.
Great Edu-tainment Sites
The American Library Associations's Great Sites for Kids:
The Arlington Heights Memorial Library's site for Kids:
