Computers and the Internet Resources for Parents & Teachers

A special collection for parents and teachers to help kids learn to use computers and the Internet and stay safe.

Resources in this category:

Alfy
http://www.ALFY.com/

Here is "the largest web portal for kids," allowing them to safely and easily experience everything the cyber world has to offer including interactive stories, games, crafts, activities, and much more. Check out the Brain Train, which helps with your ABCs and 123s. Or, Music Mania, where you can play, record, and listen to different musical instruments. And even, Storyville, for magical cyber adventures.

AskA+ Locator
http://www.vrd.org/locator/

This is a database of high-quality "AskA" services that was compiled by the Virtual Reference Desk. Using this site, you can find someone who is likely to be able to answer your question. You can search by keyword and grade level, by subject area, or by the name of the "AskA" service.

Blue Web'n
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

"Blue Web'n is a searchable database of over 1000 outstanding Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools)."

CARU Parent's Guide: Advertising and Your Child
http://www.caru.org/guidelines/parent.asp

Helps parents understand how to help distinguish between advertising and content, both on TV and on-line.

Child Safety on the Information Highway
http://www.safekids.com/

Advice for parents and for kids about how to be safe while surfing the internet. This site is sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Interactive Services Association.

The FCC Kids Zone Home Page
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/kidszone/

"The FCC kids’ zone is a safe place for children of all ages to learn fun facts about the telephone, satellites, fax machines, computers,television, radio and much, much more. Guided by mascot, "Broadband", you can learn about the FCC, find out how things work, check out rumors, find out what some tough words mean, and learn how things we use everyday were invented. In addition to all the above, the Web site contains lots of interactive games and puzzles, surveys, telecom factoids and much more. It provides a useful tool for children to learn about the FCC and let the FCC know what’s on their minds."

Filamentality
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

"Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank interactive Web site that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet sites, and turning Web resources into learning activities. It helps combine the "filaments" of the Web with a learner's "mentality". Support is built-in through Mentality Tips that guide you along the way to creating a Web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML, Web servers, or all that www-dot stuff."

Girls Only: Internet Safety Pledge
http://www.gogirlsonly.org/internet_safety_pledge.asp

Be safe in surfing the Net! Here's a pledge about learning to use the Internet safely that you can print out and discuss with your parents. It is presented by the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. who credit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Kaboose - Where families get going!
http://www.kidsdomain.com/

Kaboose "hosts an extensive range of craft activities, recipes, clip art and icons, holiday pages and a host of original children's stories." Also has fun online games.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Critical Evaluation Surveys for Internet Resources
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html

A series of surveys designed for use by educators to help their students critically evaluate Web resources. For all grade levels, in English, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Includes links to many other evaluation resources.

Kid's Domain - Grownups
http://www.kidsdomain.com/grown.html

A lively mix of resources for parents, including reviews of childrens' software, craft ideas, and more.

Kids.net.au
http://www.kids.net.au/

This search engine for kids, teens, parents, and teachers is the Australian version of KidsSeek.com, which offers "sites for kids that are child safe and clean" for 25 different countries, including Mexico, Spain, Japan, Russia, Canada, China and Germany. (Popup ads accompany this site.)

Kidsource Online
http://www.kidsource.com/

Information for parents on health, safety, product recall, and lots more.

Kidz Privacy
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html

A friendly site designed for children, teachers, media, businesses, and parents, Kidz Privacy provides information about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Searchers can read COPPA and find out about how to protect children’s privacy online. This site offers many downloadable files with easy to read information about online privacy for children.

Learning HTML
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/kidsweb/

Do you want to make a webpage? Then let's learn HTML! Creating web pages takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun.

Lissa Explains It All
http://www.lissaexplains.com/

Let Lissa teach you about web design! This site started when Lissa was 11, and is now featured on CNN Science and Technology and Headline News. Learn to make your own web page and then add cool extra like .htaccess files and installing perl scripts and running CSS. Look for the latests gadgets too: forums, guestbooks, polls, e-mail forms, tagboards, blogs, counters and even an online HTML editor. Lissa also has Icon Art to make your own cursors and favicons! There's a forum here too where others can help you get a fast answer. The site has pop-ups and other ads, because Lissa says she likes them. Be sure to read all about Lissa and why she made this web site for everyone.

A Parents' Guide to the Internet
http://www.familyguidebook.com/

A wonderful starting point for parents and teachers who want to help kids use the Internet safely .

The Parent’s Guide to the Information Superhighway
http://www.childrenspartnership.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=...

This excellent guide is "designed to welcome you, and give you a simple step-by-step introduction to parenting in a world of computers and new forms of media. This Guide will provide some tools and rules for you to use with your children at home, at school, and in the community." The Guide even breaks down tips for different age levels of children: detailing what they are likely ready to handle at a certain age. There is a glossary to define technological terms and links to additional resources. (PDF file)

The Police Notebook
http://www.ou.edu/oupd/

An excellent and exhaustive resource on public safety including: Internet safety, fire safety, personal safety, drugs and alcohol, and crime prevention. It was originally created to "provide crime prevention and safety information to the University (of Oklahoma) community." However, the site has grown since its inception and is useful to anyone interested in more information about public safety.

PrimaryPaths
http://www.primarypaths.org/

This site is geared towards pre-school and elementary school children and others who do not have experience using spreadsheets and word processors.PrimaryPaths includes both a parent/tutor mode and a teacher mode. The three sections consist of a math practice area that is interactive, an internet-based spreadsheet designed for learning the format, and an internet based word processor designed for learning the format.

A Safety Net For The Internet
http://www.nypl.org/legal/safety.cfm

The New York Public LIbrary offers guidelines for parents about childrens' use of the Internet.

Sid's Online Safey Guide
http://www.bizzikid.co.uk/internetsafety.html#

Sid's Online Safey Guide has been created in Scotland by the kids' website BizziKid and Live Wire Productions, a theatre in education company. Through the Internet Safety guide, which is a musical production aimed at 8-12 year olds, kids can learn about safe surfing on the internet. Other features include games and activities. Sid's Online Safety Guide requires Flash.

SuperKids Educational Software Review
http://www.superkids.com

Looking to buy some new stuff for your computer? Hear what parents, teachers, and kids have to say about some of the latest educational programs for computers.

Surfing the Net with Kids
http://www.surfnetkids.com/

This web directory is great for children and teens. It takes the best Internet sites for children of all ages (and their parents) an organizes them into easy-to-find subject headings. There are literally thousands of sites that one can access through this website. It can be a great help with your homework, or it can help you find fun games on through its Directory of Kids Games. This is one place on the Internet to stop and find tons of information!

Surfing the Net with Kids
http://www.surfnetkids.com/

This is Barbara J. Feldman's guide to "what's wonderful on the web." This site is a directory of links to high-quality websites on a wide-variety of topics, including Computers/Internet, Geography/Social Studies, Language Arts/Reference, and Math & Science.

TechWeb Technology Encyclopedia
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/

"Over 20,000 definitions to technology terms and concepts. Simply search for the term you are looking for or try a random definition."

Timeline-The Media History Project
http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/timeline/

Images of devices and documents throughout time along with discussion articles on the history and devices in media. Also Also contains media timelines, courseware, bibliographies.

WWW 4 Teachers
http://www.4teachers.org

Are you a teacher who wants to learn how to use the Internet in the classroom? This site is a great starting place!