ONLINE RESOURCES The Internet is an excellent source of information about safe, responsible and ethical Internet Use. Internet Safety Guides for Families Setting Up Rules for Travel on the Internet Privacy, Digital Permanence, Keeping Personal Information Private Cyberbullying Social Networking Gaming/Gaming Addiction Avoiding Misinformation - Checking the Credibility of Internet Sources Online Chat, Email and Texting Safety Tips School Projects Involving Internet Chat Homework Starter Sites Demystifying Illegal Media Downloading Legal Media Purchase Sites Spam, Viruses, and Other Online Nasties Citing Internet Sources/Copyright Ratings & Recommendations Internet Safety Guides for Families......................................................................... Child Safety on the Information Highway Online safety expert Lawrence J. Magid wrote this article some years ago, but the information is timeless, for it describes benefits and dangers of Internet use by children and puts them into a perspective we can all understand. http://www.safekids.com/child-safety-on-the-information-highway/ Family Internet Resources About.com's Family Computing page gives links to topics such as: Parent's Guide to Internet Safety, Teen Guide to Online Safety, Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying, Computing Safety & Privacy, Computing Lifestyle, Combating Cyberbulling 101. http://familyinternet.about.com/?once=true& Family Safety Online Tackles health and safety online-everything from limiting tech time to sexting to social networking. http://familyinternet.about.com/od/introtofamilycomputing/u/basicssafetyup.htm#s2 FBI Kids Safety For younger kids, the FBI's Internet Safety tips include rules about meeting people online, giving out personal information such as photos and addresses, and what to do if they encounter something online that scares them or makes them feel uneasy. http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm Internet Safety Tips for Kids Kids' rules from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=208 Guidelines for Parents of Teens Keep up with teens and their online use by setting expectations and encouraging positive use of the Internet http://www.safeteens.com/guidelines-for-parents-of-teens/ Internet Safety Tips for Teens From the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children comes this list of suggestions for teens. Information is provided about people who are not who they say they are, counseling for teens who need to talk with someone, who to talk with if they are considering running away, etc. http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=207 Parents Guide to the Internet The U.S. Department of Education developed this guide back in 1997, but its information couldn't be more pertinent today. Parents who are serious about making sure their children use the Internet wisely and effectively will appreciate this handy reference. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/index.html Suggestions for Parents about Online Safety A guide for parents of Preschool through Grade Twelve students includes topics such as use of digital devices, rules for families, advice relating to online activities, going online with younger children, and sites of interest. http://www.worcesterprep.org/academics-upperschool-technology.php Wired Safety: Information for Parents An information overview for parents that answers a questions parents have about their children's time online. http://www.wiredsafety.org/parent.html Setting Up Rules for Travel on the Internet........................................................... Family Contract for Internet Safety Designed as a way to get kids to realize the importance of safety online, the family contract is a model for an agreement between parents and kids about Internet use. It targets 21 different areas of concern. Parents can copy the agreement and modify it as they wish. http://www.safekids.com/family-contract-for-online-safety/ Go Girls Only Online Safety Pledge The Go Girls Only site has its own Internet Safety Pledge to be signed by the girl and her parents. http://www.gogirlsonly.org/internet_safety_pledge.asp Netsmartz Safety Pledge This pledge includes rules for primary, intermediate and middle/high school age students. http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/pledge.htm SafeKids Rules Eight excellent rules for online safety. http://www.safekids.com/parentpledge.pdf Slouch Potatoes Teaching kids proper ergonomics, which is most important for your children's future health, is featured in this piece. http://life.familyeducation.com/computers/health/30196.html Privacy, Digital Permanence, Keeping Personal Information Private................. Digital Permanence Most of the time what goes online stays online. Although much of it can be deleted, before it is, it may have been copied. The best advice is to take care in what is published on the Net. http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/parenting_with_technology/article.shtml?ID=43 GetNetWise Privacy Information GetNetWise features privacy suggestions related to browsing the Net, shopping, communication, and sharing information. http://privacy.getnetwise.org/ Identity Theft Wired Safety gives information about identity theft, phishing scams, and online and offline identity theft. http://www.wiredsafety.org Keeping Facebook Information Private eHow offers step by step instructions on keeping what you put on Facebook private. http://www.ehow.com/how_5739316_keep-facebook-information-private.html Protecting Personal Privacy Online Common Sense Media suggestions help kids manage their online privacy and help you to understand the culture of sharing, why privacy matters, and common sense advice. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/protecting-personal-privacy-online Success Tips about What You Put Online YouTube video featuring common sense about what to put online. If you put it there, it usually stays there. http://www.wiredsafety.org/safety/personal_information_safety/id_theft/index.html Cyberbullying.............................................................................................................. Cyberbullying Statistics i-Safe offers statistical data and tips related to cyberbullying. http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullying National Crime Prevention Council Information on Cyberbullying Details how teens are bullied, reactions to bullying, and what to do about it. http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying Personal Cyberbullying Stories Don't feel this is only happening to you. Stories on this site are from people who have experienced cyberbullying first hand. http://familyinternet.about.com/u/ua/computingsafetyprivacy/Cyberbullyua.htm Real-Life Cyberbullying Stories Netsmartz includes slideshows and videos, activity cards, and links on the problem of cyberbullying. http://www.netsmartz.org/Resources/reallife.htm White Paper on Cyberbullying The National Cable and Telecommunication white paper on cyberbullying from Common Sense Media discusses the differences between cyberbullying and bullying, the impact of cyberbullying on kids, and what parents, educators, companies, and the government can do about it. http://njbullying.org/documents/cyberbullyingpaper.pdf Social Networking...................................................................................................... Cyber Angels & Children on Social Networks The Cyber Angel site offers resources on topics to discuss with your children, staying safe on social networks, guidelines for publishing information online, what parents should know about social networks, and more. http://www.cyberangels.org/parents/childsocial.php Dangers on Social Networks Whom can you trust on social networks? Do you believe what is in someone's personal profile is accurate? What information can hackers get from your social network postings? Do you simply set privacy settings and not worry? http://www.pcworld.com/article/159560/not_among_friends_the_dangers_of_social_networks.html Financial Dangers on Social Networks What if you think you are talking with a friend or relative on a social network, and the friend says his wallet was stolen and he needs help. Do you help? Are you sure you are "talking" with the friend or relative? Watch out for scams on social networks. http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/17766597/the-financial-dangers-of-social-networking Hidden Dangers Do teens self censor when social networking? Do parents know what teens and preteens are doing on social network sites? How does social networking affect teens' lives? These questions and others are answered in this San Francisco Chronicle article. http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-08-10/news/17175229_1_social-networking-sites-social-networking-teens Parenting in the Age of Social Networks Suggestions for what you should do when your children want to join a social network. Help your children to the safest ways to communicate online. http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/parenting_with_technology/article.shtml?ID=13 Social Networking & Teens Pew Research Center offers information related to teens, privacy and social networks. http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Social-Networking-Websites-and-Teens.aspx Tweens on Facebook Answers a parent question about whether she should let her 13-year-old daughter have a Facebook page. http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/tweens-on-facebook-and-emoticon-overload/ Your Safety Is At Stake Federal Trade Commission's tips for tweens & teens. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec14.shtm Gaming/Gaming Addiction......................................................................................... Do We Need a Video Games Anonymous? What happens to our children when they spend too much time on video games? Can excessive gaming cause social and behavioral and even neurological changes? http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1719 Effects of Video Games on Children What parents need to know about risk factors related to video game addiction. The risk factors include problems with health, academics, and aggressive behavior. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_6_21/ai_n9772319/ Positive Effects of Video Games on Students There are good things that come from playing video games. Some games, for example, stimulate brain development, some help with career opportunities, and some encourage positive social behavior. http://www.ehow.com/list_6320195_positive-effects-video-games-students.html Recognizing Teen Game Addiction A article from Korea to help parents recognize signs of video game addiction. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/12/181_44085.html Avoiding Misinformation - Checking the Credibility of Internet Sources........... Hoax Sites: Learning from Them Visiting hoax sites helps students size up the value of Web pages. http://www.shsu.edu/~lis_mah/documents/TCEA/hoaxtable.html Internet Selection Criteria How can student tell if a site is one they'll find valuable and if it contains information they can trust? This Selection Criteria lists what they and their parents should look for when it comes to design, ease of use, content, and credibility. https://scout.wisc.edu/scout-report/selection-criteria Snopes Tackles Misinformation Online Go to Snopes to find out if what you've seen on the Internet or what you learn through email is a rumor, a scam, or a fact. http://www.snopes.com/ Using the Internet for School Reports This feature from the Boston Public Library gives a list of eight questions students should ask themselves about sites they visit. If a site doesn't meet the criteria, it's probably not a good one to use for school reports-or to use at all. http://www.bpl.org/KIDS/Evaluate.htm Wikipedia: How Accurate?  British research shows that Wikipedia is as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm Wikipedia: Facts You Should Know Wikipedia's FAQ for Librarians explains all you need to know about Wikipedia including that it may, like many encyclopedias, contain mistakes and information not appropriate for young children http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/FAQ_For_Librarians Wikipedia: Trust But Verify The best advice is: when using Wikipedia, always make sure to verify information. All information on Wikipedia may not be factual. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17740041/ Online Chat, Email and Texting Safety Tips............................................................ NetLingo.com - Dictionary of Internet Terms Are your kids IMing or e-mailing using acronyms or shorthand that leaves you baffled? Use this site to learn the abbreviations people use when they communicate online, with emails, through text messaging, etc. http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm BBC Chat Guide The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) provides handy chat guides targeted to kids, parents, teens, and teachers. The site lists five golden rules for successful and safe chatting. http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/chatguide/index.shtml Chat, Texting, and Phone Safety Wired Safety helps you understand chat lingo and text messaging and learn how to help your children be safe when using technologies. http://www.wiredsafety.org/safety/chat_safety/phone_safety/sms7.html Surfnet Kids List of Monitored Chats Here's a list of monitored chats for kids. They include Creative Writing for Teens, HeadBone, and NASA Quest. http://www.surfnetkids.com/chat.htm Teens and Talk: The Lure of Instant Messaging Family Education calls Instant Messaging the "21st Century Pizza Parlor" and details information on the good and the bad of teen chatting. Suggestions for rules are provided. http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,4-11432,00.html Talking to Kids & Teens about Social Media & Sexting The American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidelines for parents. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/june09socialmedia.htm Texting Cyber Safety eHow explains some of the problems that can happen when texting such as giving out private information, being cyberbullied or being a cyberbully, sending inappropriate photos, etc. http://www.ehow.com/facts_6806125_texting-cyber-safety-kids.html What Is Sexting? Norton, a company that provides filtering services, explains sexting, how common it is, and what to do about it. http://www.symantec.com/norton/familyresources/resources.jsp?title=ar_talking_the_talk School Projects Involving Internet Chats............................................................... ePals ePals is a global community where learners connect. It's said to be the world's largest K-12 learning network with classrooms in over 200 countries. http://www.epals.com/ Global Schoolhouse Global Schoolhouse includes a clearinghouse of over 900 collaborative projects. Each project is listed by topic, grade, and date. If you are looking for a project to do with other schools, this is a great place to start. http://www.globalschoolhouse.com SchoolNet Global SchoolNet Global offers the following collaborative projects: The Sustainability Project, The My Culture Project, The My Country Project, and The Road Map to Peace Project. Next on the agenda is the My Languages Project. http://www.globalschoolnet.org Homework Starter Sites............................................................................................. Atlapedia Online Your children will find loads of information about countries and lots of physical and political maps on this site. There are, in addition, homework resources for teachers and kids. http://www.atlapedia.com The American Library Association's Great Web Sites On everyone's best site list, the American Library Association's Great Web Sites features Internet locations for information on animals, literature and languages, the arts, sciences, history and biography, mathematics and computers, social sciences, and reference. http://gws.ala.org/ Biography.com A great place to go when looking for information for student reports on famous people. Take a look at BioClassroom, Bio4Kids, Animalographies, US Presidents, ... http://www.biography.com/ Fact Monster It's the Fact Monster's job to give facts on just about everything-news, the world, the U.S., people, words, math, science, sports, games, and homework. Features include This Day in History, Analogy of the Day, Word Quiz and more. http://www.factmonster.com History The list of topics on History.com reads like a list of reports and papers teachers often assign. At History, text, photos and video await student research. http://www.history.com/ How Stuff Works Want to know how something-anything works? This site is the place to go. Find out how electric lights, cell phones, car engines-you name it-work. http://www.howstuffworks.com How to Write a Book Report For kids in Grades 3-8, here's an interactive guide to assist them with writing the "dreaded" book report. Kids can download outlines to help them with their note-taking, writing, and organization of their thoughts. http://www.childsoftpress.com/ididit/CODE/book_report_000.html Librarian Chick Librarian Chick's list of free resources include links to eBooks and audio books, video tutorials, references and research, worksheets, calculators, lectures, podcasts, graphs, online learning, open source software and courseware, and much more. http://www.librarianchick.com Museum Boxes Your children can create their own online museum boxes filled with text, images, videos and sound. The boxes might focus upon an event, an historical period, a scientist, the student's life, etc. The site has a library of images and sounds, but students can upload their own to the boxes. On the site, you and your students can look into Museum Boxes already created. http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php NASA Always the site to head to for information on air and space flight, facts on the planets, stars and space, NASA includes places for kids, students, and educators. Sign up to receive NASA news, and you and your children will be linking back to NASA to be treated to the latest news from space. http://www.nasa.gov National Geographic Need maps or information about locations throughout the world, animals, nature, photography, travel, or explorations - you'll find what you want at National Geographic. There's a Kids section, too, for the younger world explorers. http://www.nationalgeographic.com\ PBS Filled with information about literature, history, science, health and more, PBS lets you watch online, and includes PBS for Parents and PBSKids. http://www.pbs.org/ Power to Learn All over the Power to Learn site, you'll find links to great homework help ideas. Whether your kids need to write a book report, make a poster, find a map, organize their work on the computer, there's help at Power to Learn. http://www.powertolearn.com/students/index.shtml Smithsonian Just about anything your kids need to know can be found at one of the Smithsonian museums. Think about what they'll find when visiting the American History Museum, the National Zoo, the American Indian Museum, the Air and Space Museum, the African Art Museum, and the National History Museum. It just goes on and on! http://www.si.edu Demystifying Illegal Media Downloading................................................................. DVD Copying Laws eHow offers guidelines about legal copying of DVDs.  When you copy, follow the rules, and realize that it's not easy to stay legal when copying. http://www.ehow.com/about_5443958_dvd-copying-laws.html Game Copying & Game Devices Are Illegal Copying copyright games is illegal. Game copying devices, which allow users to illegally copy games, are also illegal. http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#copy_illegal How File Sharing Works In a concise and easy to read format, the site discusses the popularity of Napster, peer-to-peer networks, and copyright infringement. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/file-sharing.htm Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions For a brief synopsis of court decisions related to Internet use, go to the Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions and check for topics of interest. You'll find case updates on MP3, DVD, audio files, and a host of others including privacy, shareware, email, and copyright. http://www.internetlibrary.com/ Movie Studios and Illegal Copying of Movies To stop illegal downloading of movies, studios are suing those who download movies illegally. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-isp_30bus.ART0.State.Edition1.1ab57ea.html RIAA RIAA is the site for the Recording Industry Association of America. The site includes information about issues facing the industry and puts a human face on the problem of pirating music. http://www.riaa.com Stopping Illegal CD Copying Five steps to making sure your CD copies are legal. www.ehow.com/how_5163893_stop-illegal-cd-copying.html YouTube Terms of Service YouTube does not allow you to download or copy videos or music on the site. Although there are programs designed to download from YouTube and other sites, it is not legal to do so. It is also not legal to use copyright materials in what is uploaded to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/t/terms Wired Safety Baffled by the whole music downloading issue? Here's a guide that will make you an instant authority on the topic.  Bottom line, piracy is illegal, and if your kids are not paying for songs they download (with very few exceptions), it's time for you to step in. http://www.wiredpatrol.org/documents/downloadingmusic_parryguide.html Legal Media Purchase Sites..................................................................................... Apple's iTunes One of the best places online for legal downloading of music and other media. You'll find the iTunes store convenient and fun and the music inexpensive and easy to download. Both Mac and PC users will feel at home at iTunes. http://www.apple.com/itunes Music Download Websites A list of legal music downloading sites. http://music-download-websites.no1reviews.com/ Napster (The New Napster) This is legal the Napster music store with over 500,000 tracks available for downloading. There's also a Napster Radio for aspiring DJs and a Napster community network. http://www.napster.com NetFlix for Legal Movies NetFlix is an example of a service that lets you download movies and television shows legally. http://www.netflix.com Spam, Viruses, and Other Online Nasties............................................................... How Computer Viruses Work Take the mystery out of those sneaky computer viruses by discovering what they are and how they can invade your computer. Best of all, learn how to prevent a virus attack. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm Internet Viruses 101 Every computer owner needs to know about viruses, how they work and how to defend against them. http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/viruses101/ McAfee Security Products McAfee Security offers a line of software products to help you protect your computer. http://us.mcafee.com Options to Limit Time Online How do you monitor how much time your child spends online? There's software that can keep track of it for you. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2003-10-27-komando_x.htm Spam GetNetWise offers tips, tools, and suggestions for action if you're bothered by unwanted email. The tips help you avoid spam, and the tools and actions give you ideas about filtering mail that comes to your computer and reporting email offenders to agencies who can do something about this problem. http://spam.getnetwise.org Symantic Products (Norton AntiVirus) Symantic has a number of software products to help you protect your computer. Norton AntiVirus is one of the most popular. http://www.symantec.com/product/ To Filter or Not - American Association of School Librarians It's hard to decide what to do about filtering, but librarians have some answers for you about the pros and cons of this type of software. The site also includes links to additional information. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslcommunity/quicklinks/filterproscons.cfm Viruses/Hoaxes You've probably gotten email warning you not to open attachments with certain names. Many of these are hoaxes, which are forwarded to you by innocent people. Paying attention to such messages is not a wise way to protect your computer. http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/virushoaxes/ Virus Hoax Identifier The Internet Scam Buster site will help you identify virus hoaxes. According to the Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory (CIAC), hoax debunking takes more time than fighting viruses. http://www.scambusters.org/VirusHoaxes.html Citing Internet Sources/Copyright........................................................................... APA Style The American Psychological Association's guide to writing is one of the standard styles used in schools and colleges. APA guidelines on electronic references are included on this site. http://www.apastyle.org/apa-style-help.aspx Beg, Borrow, or Steal? Understanding the fair use exemption to copyright law is critical for students who mine the Internet for digital media and school projects. This Power to Learn slideshow highlights what students need to know. http://www.powertolearn.com/internet_smarts/interactive_case_studies/index.shtml Cyberbee's Copyright & Fair Use Information A flash presentation in which students give answers to copyright questions. http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf Hall Davidson's Copyright & Fair Use Chart Hall Davidson, Director of the Discovery Education Network, provides this easy-to-understand chart on copyright and fair use. http://www.halldavidson.net/chartshort.html The Purdue University Owl (Online Writing Lab) The OWL lab at Purdue has long been the place to go for information on writing. This section of the site features details on use of the MLA (Modern Language Association) style for source citing. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html Turnitin: Preventing Plagiarism Turnitin is an example of a service that delivers feedback on student work and checks for potential plagiarism in student writing. http://turnitin.com/static/index.html Ratings & Recommendations................................................................................... Common Sense Media Rates movies, Web sites, television shows, mobile apps, music, and books. A great site for parent information. http://www.commonsensemedia.org GetNetWise GetNetWise provides information about products that are designed to help online experiences be safe and rewarding. Finding software that filters and/or monitors what children are doing online is easy with GetNetWise's "Tools for Families" search. http://kids.getnetwise.org/tools/index.php ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) Assigns ratings for the interactive entertainment software industry. On the site you can search for video game ratings by publisher, title or keyword. http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp Internet Content Rating Association ICRA is an international content rating system for the Internet. Filtering categories include chat, language used on a site, nudity and sexual content of a site, violence depicted on a site, and others areas such as gambling, drugs, and alcohol. http://www.fosi.org/icra/