New Sites Take Younger Kids Online

Social-Networking Sites Introduce

Younger Kids To Virtual Communities,

Consumerism And Safety Issues

(AP) This past spring, 10-year-old Adam Young joined other tweens on Club Penguin, playing games, throwing virtual snowballs and chatting with fellow kids who appear onscreen as plump cartoon penguins. A few weeks later, Adam asked Mom to pay $5 a month for extra features, such as decorating his online persona's igloo.

Karen Young demanded to learn more about what some have billed as "training wheels" for the MySpace generation. She spent time on the site with Adam and consulted with her sister, the mother of another daily visitor. "I said, 'Well, what is it? What does it involve?'" Young recalled.

"I wanted him to show me what he wanted and what it was about." Drawing preteens as young as 6 or 7, sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz are forcing parents to decide at what age they are willing to let their children roam about and interact with friends online.

This from CBS News.
ABOVE: Six-year-old Mark Barakat plays a game on the Webkinz Web site at his home in Falls Church, Va., July 11, 2007. Children take care of a virtual pet, keeping it happy, healthy and well-fed by "buying" food, toys and amenities with Webkinz cash, which is earned by playing games and fulfilling various tasks. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Kids Don't Tell Parents the Truth about Online Activities

A Webroot survey shows

more than half of kids are shopping online, while 43% of teens using social network sites have been solicited by a stranger in the past year.

Do you know what your kids are doing online? A new study shows you probably don't.
According to research by Webroot Software, what parents think their kids are doing online and what kids say they're doing online are often two different things.

"Without proper parental guidance, children can put themselves at risk, compromise valuable family information, or be the sources of bad behavior like illegally downloading videos or music or bullying," said Mike Irwin, COO of Webroot Software, in a statement. "The good news here is that these potential problems can be largely avoided if parents apply the same vigilance to the online world as in the offline world. Direct and ongoing conversations with our kids, and establishing guidelines with the help of the right technology, will go a long way in supporting good judgment."

More than 70% of the surveyed children, ages 11 to 17, said their parents ask them about their online activities, but they may not be getting accurate answers.

According to Webroot:

• More than half of the teens surveyed said they buy things online.
• But 71% of parents said their children never buy anything over the Internet.
• Forty percent of the kids said they use instant messaging and social networking websites, like MySpace and Facebook everyday.
• But only 30% of the parents said their children participate in these sites.
• And 45% of the kids say they spend an average of three or more hours on the Internet a day.
• But 76% of parents polled said their children spend an average of two hours or less on the Internet.
• Forty-three percent of teens who use social networking sites said a stranger invited them to meet within the past year.
• At the same time, nearly 40% of children ages 11 to 17 reported receiving a sexually explicit e-mail or pop-up advertisement within the past year.
• Nearly 100% of the children surveyed said they use e-mail.

This from Information Week.

KDE announces Computer savings for Kentucky public school students

Two programs will provide savings on technology to Kentucky’s public school students, the Kentucky Department of Education announced today.

Students can purchase Microsoft software through the new Student Select Program and computers through the Instructional Device Upgrade (IDU) project. Both programs also are available to P-12 education faculties and staff.

Microsoft software products available through the Student Select Program include:
· Office 2007
· Office 2004 for Mac
· One Note
· Project
· SharePoint
· Visio
· Windows Vista

All applications are full versions of the software. The Windows Vista license does require that a qualifying Windows operating system license be previously installed on the computer.

Individuals may save hundreds of dollars when purchasing through this program.

Microsoft Student Select Pricing is available online at http://education.ky.gov/JumpTo/?jump=softcost. Student Select purchases can be placed online at <http://kde.onthehub.com/>. Authentication of eligibility is required.

Additional information on the Student Select program is available at http://education.ky.gov/JumpTo/?jump=LicensingFAQ or by visiting http://www.education.ky.gov/ and entering “student select” into the Search box.

Students also may purchase computers, including desktop, laptop and tablet models from Dell, HP and Lenovo, at IDU-negotiated pricing. Prices are as much as 50 percent below retail pricing for equivalent models.

Vendor-specific order instructions are included at the top of the IDU order forms located on the Kentucky Department of Education’s Web site at <http://education.ky.gov/JumpTo/?jump=IDUPricing> or by visiting http://www.education.ky.gov/ and entering “IDU pricing” into the Search box.