Kids and the Internet
Dr. Roger McIntire
Many of our children are adept at using the internet, but do they know how to use it correctly? Do they know the pitfalls and problems? Teach them. Here are some tips.
1. Show your children how to use and evaluate information they find on the Internet. Not all online information is reliable. Some individuals and organizations are very careful about the accuracy of the information they post, but others are not. Some even mislead on purpose.
2. Remind your children not to copy online information and claim it's their own or copy software unless it is clearly labeled as free.
3. Help children understand the nature of commercial information, advertising and marketing, including who created it and why it exists. Encourage them to think about why something is provided and appears in a specific way. Steer your children to noncommercial sites and other places that don't sell products specifically to children. It is important to be aware of the potential risks involved in going online, but it is also important to keep them in perspective. Common sense and clear guidelines are the place to start.
4. Talk with your children, school staff, and other parents about what online experiences are already part of classroom activities and what is being planned. Become involved.
5. Help schools get technology, including used equipment from government agencies or businesses. For information on computer recycling, visit http://www.ntrp.org.
6. Help your school and community participate in NetDay, a grassroots volunteer effort to wire schools so their computers are networked and have Internet access. http://www.netday.org/.
7. Share your expertise by volunteering in the classroom or organizing training for teachers and other parents.
8. Ask your local PTA to set up a "family night" on computers, technology, and the Internet.
9. Help schools develop "rules of the road" that are discussed with students before they go online.
10. Join the school's technology planning group.
Try these interesting, family-friendly sites -
The Franklin Institute Science Museum at http://sln.fi.edu offers online exhibits on an array of science and technology topics.
Find good books to read, including Newbery and Caldecott Award winners, at the American Library Association site http://www.ala.org/parents/index.html. This site includes information about authors, KidsConnect (for help locating the information online), and educational games.
Watch Life from Mars, audio and video transmissions of the Pathfinder's explorations, at NASA's site http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov. Find more adventures in space, including views from the Hubble Space Telescope, at a different NASA site http://spacelink.nasa.gov
