It\'s not your Fathers Internet by Larry MagidI recently finished my internet safety presentation the parents at my middle school. One of the things that kept bothering my was I felt that I was telling them all about the dangers of social networking but in my heart I love social networking. I think social networking has a mix of both positive effects and negative effects on students. It is finding our way through the mess that is the problem. Often our kids know more about it than the parents.
Larry Magid created a great video that he posted on YouTube that is really interesting.
is the big question that my students ask. I am always telling my students and parents about the dangers on the internet and sometimes forget to share the great things. My students have found a few sites that I consider safe. However keep in mind that nothing is totally free from inappropriate content or creeps.
My favorite site for students to use when they have the time is Whyville “Whyville is a virtual world where boys and girls from all over the real world come to chat, play, learn, and have fun together. You design your face, earn clams by playing games, hang out at the beach, and go to town events at the Greek Theater. You can start your own business, buy a car and give your friends a ride, or write for the town newspaper. ”
In order to chat in Whyville kids must take a chat license test and up to a certain age must have their parents permission. If a child says anything inappropriate it is either not allowed, or the other kids can file a 911, and the site moderates the chat and will ban or put duct tape over the mouth of the character for a specific amount of time.
I enjoy this site it gives the kids some freedom but keeps them safe and if the kids want to earn credits in the game they must play the EDUCATIONAL games.
Another site that my kids LOVE is Webkinz. It is not really a social networking site because kids do not interact with each other. The kids use the code off of thier Webkinz stuffed animal and adopt it. They can then play games and earn credits to buy things for thier virtual pet. Some kids love it and some think it is childish. I find it is a nice safe fun place for kids to play online. My middle school kids like it and my 4 and 6 year olds like it. Club Penguin is another social networking site for kids.
“Parent Tools allow you to manage your child’s playtime on Club Penguin. With these features you can view your child’s account history, change your child’s password or chat mode and more.” It is not the most educational site but it is a lot of fun for the kids.
What are the kids doing on their computers typing away all night?? I have always worried about my students online but I also want to encourage them to use technology and stay up to date. In my opinion there are a lot of things online that are very dangerous for kids and adults to be using. However lately I have found a bunch of places that are really interesting and have the safety of kids in mind. This post will deal with the dangers of social networking. My next will discuss some of the more appropriate sites for teens.
Myspace is the big evil at my school. I have created an online character which is an 8th grade girl. I notified the school police officer and the school principal of my actions so that I would not lose my job. My plan was not to entrap any students but to see how many kids would accept a complete stranger as a friend. I have about 50 middle and high school friends on my MySpace account. It was very eye opening how many kids just accepted me not having a clue who I am. After a year of this test run I have shared my experiment with my studnets. I think it helped. Many of them were worried if they had accepted me as their friend and several went home and cleared out their unknow friends.
Another problem that we see in our school is when MySpace is used for cyberbulling. Kids will create a MySpace account dedicated to trashing another persons reputation and to share hate with the world. For example an account name might me “Joe Smith is a loser” Trust me the names are much more hurtful than that. Then this site is used to say terrible things about Joe Smith and everyone joins in . Some to support the victim and more to add hate comments directed at Joe Smith. It can get really nasty and extremely painful to the victim.
What I share with my students is that MySpace does not look out for teens and children. It has many features and applications witch encourage kids to share information that should not be public knowledge. The Stranger Danger lesson that my 4 and 6 year olds learn in their school needs to be extended to online strangers as well.
Facebook is another very popular social networking site that is used more with the college students but I see it moving into the high school and recently I have seen several middle school kids using it. One key difference between Facebook and Myspace is that only your accepted friends can see your site. So unless the kids accept you as a friend you can not view there information. Myspace allows you to set your site as private but many middle school kids ignore this option. MySpace allows you to use any name such as “Joe Smith is a loser” while you have to use a name on Facebook. In my opinion Facebook is still not acceptable to a middle school student.
Whether a parent or a student we need to be aware of what we are sharing and who has access to it. Some people are dangerous and some are just “fishermen” who are just fishing for more information to hack sites, accounts, and passwords. Recently VP nominee Sarah Palins Yahoo account was hacked because she gave out the answers to her password safety questions in a speech. They were her High School and where she met her husband.
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