The Computer Teacher

Child safety while surfing the "Net" is a very important issue for parents. There has been many news items about children making the wrong choice while surfing the net. This article is meant as an Internet resource guide for parents. The NetSmartz Workshop developed by National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides suggestions for keeping children safe while online as follows:

"place the computer in a public area of the home, where you can see what your child is doing while online.
consider installing software that can filter or limit the type of information your child can get over the Internet. But, please understand that filters can't catch everything that is harmful. You will still have to check the information that your child is receiving.
talk with your children about their use of the Internet. How do they use it? Get to know their online friends just as you do their "in-person" friends. What are their favorite Internet sites?
remember nothing takes the place of your attention, supervision, and understanding."

Web Resources for Parents & Children
www.missingkids.com/—The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's site provides an Internet Safety Quiz for Kids under Education & Resources (bottom of page). This site provides a wealth of safety tips and resources.

GetNetWise—GetNetWise is a project created by Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations to help ensure that Internet users have safe and rewarding online experiences.

www.netsmartz.org/—The NetSmartz Workshop is developed at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Web studio. This is an educational resource for children of all ages, parents and teachers on how to stay safe on the Internet.

www.safekids.com and www.safeteens.com — This site is drawn from the writings of Larry Magid, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times under a project entitled The Online Safety Project.

In Closing
Some "buzz words" that all parents should understand are "Instant Messenger" (IMs), "Blogging", and "Spaces."

Instant Messenger (IM) is like a private club that requires a piece of software such as AOL Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger. First, sign up for IM and create your "special name." Then, members enter their friend's special name into their software program. As each friend connects to the Internet, the software automatically detects the friend and lets the group know. Any member can type short text messages back and forth to individual members.

Blogging for most teens it basically is an online diary. Most will contain text, images and links to other websites. The key feature is that any reader of a public blog can add their own message to the blog, which can opens a dialgue between the blog owner and the voyeur.

Spaces or social network services such as MySpace was intended to be a place where your can meet people with similar interests. To accomplish this you setup a personal page with information about yourself including pictures. The service will categorize your listing based on information you provide and anyone can "search" for profiles earmarked as "public" based on age, location, and interests.

There is a wealth of information available on Internet safety including glossaries and other resources to help keep children safe on the Internet. This is not an exhaustive list but a start.