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Last week, I asked my previous students (Jr. High age) what some of their favorite online sites are, I then told them they had to be family friendly sites, so that I could review them myself and share them with others.
So where do kids hang out online other than Facebook and MySpace (I told them those two didn't count, because those two were already known about)?
After some discussion over lunch, they agreed on two sites in particular that they really like spending time on.
The first site is called Poptropica.com, I talked about it a little in my last blog. The site is free, but there is also a paid membership that offers more access to the offerings of the site. Check out this brief video on Poptropica...
So, while you are exploring the many islands of Poptropica, collecting different items needed in a game or competing with others, you can also chat with other Poptropicans. However, what I really like about the chatting aspect of Poptropica, is that, "Poptropica uses a pre-scripted chat system. This means that users are provided with question and answer options to choose from in order to communicate with each other. There is purposely no free chat in Poptropica in order to make our virtual world as safe as possible for kids." In my book, the pre-scripted chat system gets two thumbs up from this mom.
What was the other site the kids liked? The boys (mostly) really like hanging out on PlayCrafter.com. What is PlayCrafter? This site allows you to not only play games that others have created, but it allows you to create your own flash based games to share with others. Watch this video to get an idea of how it works...
PlayCrafter.com is a free site, like Poptropica, and like Poptropica, there is also a premium version membership that you can purchase to get more out of the site. The free membership allows you to play the games, chat (although I'm not sure how their chatting works, I couldn't figure out how to access that option), save high scores, save games you are working on and publish games with up to 10 levels.
I would visit both sites with your child, to determine the safety issues or see them in action yourself, before letting your child have free reign on either site. Poptropica does not link to outside sites, but PlayCrafter does, and you may or may not want your child to visit the outside sites (that's why it's always best to explore new sites together, first).
Have fun exploring!!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A Mom's Perspective on Social Networking Sites for Young Kids
As a Tech Savvy Family, one of the things we need to be aware of is social networking sites for young kids. Kids are social by nature, and companies are working very hard to encourage and even entice kids to get involved with their social networking websites at an early age (usually starting at age 6 and going through age 15 before the kids then switch to the Facebook and MySpace platforms of social networking sites).
What do social networking sites provide? These sites allow kids to blog, chat, listen to music, post pictures and play games with others online, and they all claim to be "ultra safe" (underscore the word "claim," make sure you check for yourself thoroughly before allowing your child to participate in any social networking environment).
Examples of websites designed for kids include (but are not limited to):
ClubPenguin.com, where when you sign up, you adopt an animated penguin to chat to friends, play games, explore, collect coins and even personalize your very own igloo (it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
Poptropica.com, where your child creates an avatar and moves from island to island, changing costumes and collecting a special medal every time you complete a quest (again, it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
MoshiMonsters.com, where you adopt a monster and roam around Monstro City interacting with other monsters (here you have to sign "adoption papers" before participating, giving the site your name, then create a password and provide an email account for confirmation purposes. It is free, but again, to get the most out of it you're going to have to pay for a membership.
Finally, Webosaurs.com, at this site, you get to choose which dinosaur you want to be and interact with other dinosaurs, play games, watch videos and chat with your dino friends (again, it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
As you can see, all of these sites are basically the same, and they are all geared toward kids ages 6 - 15. So, whether you are a penguin, kid avatar, monster or dinosaur your child can interact with other children online for a price.
As a mom, however, my main concern is the "chatting" aspect of each of the sites. Reason being, you really do not know who you are sharing your information with, and kids are very free with their personal information. It does not take much to have a child share their name, what school they go to, where they live, their age, the names of their siblings, the names of their parents, where their parents work and what they do, you just have to ask in just the right way. It is always best to make sure you establish rules with your child as to what is ok and not ok to post online. It is also a good idea to keep an eye on them while they are visiting these various social networking sites and teach them how to report abuse of the site to the site administrator.
What do social networking sites provide? These sites allow kids to blog, chat, listen to music, post pictures and play games with others online, and they all claim to be "ultra safe" (underscore the word "claim," make sure you check for yourself thoroughly before allowing your child to participate in any social networking environment).
Examples of websites designed for kids include (but are not limited to):
ClubPenguin.com, where when you sign up, you adopt an animated penguin to chat to friends, play games, explore, collect coins and even personalize your very own igloo (it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
Poptropica.com, where your child creates an avatar and moves from island to island, changing costumes and collecting a special medal every time you complete a quest (again, it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
MoshiMonsters.com, where you adopt a monster and roam around Monstro City interacting with other monsters (here you have to sign "adoption papers" before participating, giving the site your name, then create a password and provide an email account for confirmation purposes. It is free, but again, to get the most out of it you're going to have to pay for a membership.
Finally, Webosaurs.com, at this site, you get to choose which dinosaur you want to be and interact with other dinosaurs, play games, watch videos and chat with your dino friends (again, it is free, but to get the most out of it, you have to pay for a membership).
As you can see, all of these sites are basically the same, and they are all geared toward kids ages 6 - 15. So, whether you are a penguin, kid avatar, monster or dinosaur your child can interact with other children online for a price.
As a mom, however, my main concern is the "chatting" aspect of each of the sites. Reason being, you really do not know who you are sharing your information with, and kids are very free with their personal information. It does not take much to have a child share their name, what school they go to, where they live, their age, the names of their siblings, the names of their parents, where their parents work and what they do, you just have to ask in just the right way. It is always best to make sure you establish rules with your child as to what is ok and not ok to post online. It is also a good idea to keep an eye on them while they are visiting these various social networking sites and teach them how to report abuse of the site to the site administrator.
