Safe computing

By request, here is a list of kid-safe internet search engines. These have been referred to us by educational professionals, but parents should always monitor internet usage by their students. If kids are doing a report for school–they should remember that the school library site has many databases that the district pays for. These are 100% enclosed and not out on the world wide web, and therefore they are student-safe. If you still need to search, here are some resources.

http://quinturakids.com/

http://www.dibdabdoo.com/

http://www.kidrex.org/

http://ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html

http://www.askkids.com/

http://www.kidskonnect.com/

http://cybersleuth-kids.com/ (this one is good but full of ads, noisy and pop-up)

For animals: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/

For photos, you can try the Library of Congress website:

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/

http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/links.html

or this next one (although it has a lot of ads — guide your children so they don’t click on the ads)

http://classroomclipart.com/

Did you just receive a computer?

If you got a computer for your birthday or on a holiday you are very lucky!  It is a big responsibility, and you need to be safe. Make sure your parents know there is a CyberSafety page in Billerica that is under Links off the Hajjar and Parker websites. It is also linked at the bottom of the main Billerica website, and it is under the Parents menu off the Marshall website.

If you want to find our Activity Page, you can click on the words Activity Page.

Other sites you should try are: Kerpoof.com

Starfall.com

And if you like YouTube, but want a safer version, try Kidzui.com or just go to cuteoverload.com!  If you try cuteoverload – you will find all the funny animal videos there without any nasty surprises like you might get on YouTube.

If you go to Google.com and click More, Even more, you will find links to get Google Earth and Sketchup on your home computer. They are free.

For great science stuff, I like:  Jason.org and  edheads.org.   Under Jason, there is a Hurricane Tracker game!   If you like to listen to stories, rhymes or stories, try  repeatafterus.com.

If you like writing poetry, try the Poem maker here.

Look around Mrs. Donoghue’s main page of this blog, for more information about Phun, and other free programs that you can use on the internet.  There are lots of safe places to play.