Internet Safety for Kids

Safety at School

Alcott Elementary and the Lake Washington School District take seriously the safe and effective use of the Internet. The Lake Washington School District has established policies regarding Internet use and acceptable use of the districts computers. They can be viewed on the LWSD website at http://www.lkwash.wednet.edu/lwsd/html/programs/technology/policies/

The Lake Washington School District uses a commercial Internet screening product that filters Internet content, and does not allow access to pages and/or sites with objectionable material. At Alcott we go one step further and encourage the students to only use sites we have put on the Alcott Web page (wwwalc.lkwash.wednet.edu). These are sites we have chosen for their educational value and appropriateness for our children. They are not allowed to randomly “surf” the Internet. All students are monitored while using the Internet.

We do not allow students to use email programs, such as hotmail, or chatrooms. There is a Lake Washington e-mail system which is used in only a couple of classrooms under strict supervision.

Safety at Home

Below are some very helpful sites with information about safe Internet usage. Some of the most common tips on these sites are:

• Have the computer your child uses in an area where a parent can easily check what’s on the screen. Do NOT have it in a child’s bedroom.
• Review the rules for e-mail use. Remind kids to never give our information like their last name, their phone number, their address, etc. Let them know they are never to contact (write a letter or meet in person) somebody they’ve met through the Internet without talking to you.
• Know how long your child is on the computer, what they are doing, and who they are in contact with. Talk to them and watch what they are doing.

These sites have further information. Some are for children and others are for parents.

For Children:

Internet Safety Quiz - http://www.missingkids.com/quiz/internetquiz.html

KidsCom Internet Safety Game for kids - http://www.kidscom.com/games/isg/isg.html

For Children and Parents:

SafeKids (Find tips, advice and suggestions to make your family's online experience fun and productive! Includes the Safe Kids Online Song ) - http://www.safekids.com/

World Kids Internet Safety for kids and parents. This site also includes netiquette, chat room and email safety tips - http://worldkids.net/school/safety/internet/

For Parents:

A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety (from the FBI, includes a Spanish version) - http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguide.htm

Get Net Wise Online Safety Guide - http://www.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/

NetParenting - Safety, Education and Entertainment Ideas for Children on the Internet - http://www.netparenting.com/

Parental Controls/Internet Filters - http://microweb.com/pepsite/Software/filters.html

SmartParent - http://www.smartparent.com/

Yahooligans! Parents’ Guide http://www.yahooligans.com/parents/