>From the web page http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet

                  U.S. Department of Education
          Office of Educational Research and Improvement
                Office of Educational Technology

                          Parents Guide
                             to the
                            Internet

                          MIS 97-6609

                          November 1997

                  U. S. Department of Education
                         Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Education
Richard W. Riley
Secretary

Marshall S. Smith
Acting Deputy Secretary

Office of Educational Technology
Linda G. Roberts
Director

Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Ricky T. Takai
Acting Assistant Secretary

Media and Information Services
Cynthia Hearn Dorfman
Director

This publication was prepared under contract RK970742. Listing
of materials and resources in this book should not be construed
or interpreted as an endorsement by the Department of any
private organization or business listed herein.

This book is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it
in whole or in part for educational purposes is granted.

The full text of this publication is available at the
Department's home page at http://www.ed.gov/ and in alternate
formats upon request. For more information, please contact us
at:

    U.S. Department of Education
    Office of Educational Research and Improvement
    Media and Information Services
    555 New Jersey Avenue, NW
    Washington, D.C. 20208-5570
    http://www.ed.gov/
    Telephone: 1/800-USA-Learn
    FIRS 1-800-877-8339, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., ET, M-F

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Contents

Title Page

  * A Message To Parents About The Internet

  * Foreword

  * How To Use This Booklet

  * What Is the Information Superhighway?

  * Benefits of Getting on the Information Superhighway

  * Starting the Engine

  * Navigating the Journey

  * Tips for Safe Traveling

  * Supporting School Use of Technology

  * Sites Along the Way

  * Glossary

  * Acknowledgments

  * Reviewers

For the user's convenience we also provide this document in
Portable Document Format (PDF)  (935K) for reading and printing
with the  Adobe Acrobat reader.

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                         THE WHITE HOUSE
                           Washington

                      A MESSAGE TO PARENTS
                        ABOUT THE INTERNET

As President, one of my top priorities is to ensure that our
children have the best education in the world. Vice President
Gore and I believe that one of the ways to accomplish this is to
give every child access to educational technology by the dawn of
the new century. This will require connecting every classroom to
the Internet by the year 2000, giving teachers the training they
need to use technology effectively, expanding the supply of
high-quality educational software, and increasing the number of
modern, multimedia computers in the classroom. For the first
time in our Nation's history, all of our children will have
access to the same universe of knowledge and the opportunity to
acquire the skills they need to succeed in the high-tech
workplace of the 21st century.

It is critical that our children have your guidance as they
learn to use the Internet. Although children can use the
Internet to tap in to the Library of Congress or download
pictures from the surface of Mars, not all of the material on
the Internet is appropriate for children. As a parent, you can
guide and teach your child in a way that no one else can. You
can make sure that your child's experience on the Internet is
safe, educational, and enjoyable.

Of course, not all of us are familiar with computers and the
Internet. Although Vice President Gore coined the term
"information superhighway" more than 17 years ago, I am a novice
when it comes to high tech. To help you get started, I asked
Secretary Riley and the U.S. Department of Education to prepare
a Parents Guide to the Internet. This will give you the
information you need to help guide your child's exploration of
the vast resources on the Internet.

I commend you for helping to give America's children this
unprecedented opportunity to learn and to grow. Working
together, we can create a brighter future for them and for our
nation.

                          Bill Clinton

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Foreword

More than ever before, a high-quality education offers Americans
the best path to a rewarding career and a fulfilling quality of
life. As citizens of the Information Age, we must include access
to technology among the elements of an education that is based
on high standards of achievement and discipline. But
incorporating technology into the Nation's schools is too big a
job for the schools to tackle on their own. Teachers need
support and involvement from parents, grandparents, business,
cultural institutions and others in order to make effective
in-class use of the wonders of technology.

This Parents Guide to the Internet is intended to help
parents--regardless of their level of technological
know-how--make use of the on-line world as an important
educational tool. The guide cuts through the overwhelming amount
of consumer information to give parents an introduction to the
Internet and how to navigate it. I am especially pleased that
the guide suggests how parents can allow their children to tap
into the wonders of the Internet while safeguarding them from
its potential hazards.

This guide was produced with the sort of collaborative effort
that our schools need in order to succeed. U.S. Department of
Education staff worked with leaders from parent and education
organizations, the private sector, nonprofit groups and others
in order to give you a clear and comprehensive overview of the
Internet and its vast educational potential. In the same way,
schools need support from every corner of the community in order
to provide our students with a high-quality education. I
encourage you to find ways for families, employers and civic
organizations to pitch in and improve your local schools.

                        Richard W. Riley
                     Secretary of Education

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How To Use This Booklet

For many of us, computers are exciting, but puzzling. Our
children know far more about computers than we do! How do we
bridge the gap between what our children know and what we know
to be able to assist them with their school work and help them
get ready for the information age of the next century? After
all, being able to use technology is rapidly becoming a
requirement for being an informed citizen and a productive
worker.

Whether your children are experienced computer users or just
getting started, they need your involvement, your experience,
and your judgment. This booklet is designed to provide you with
basic information about how to use the computer to find
information and communicate with others. It tells you what you
need to get started on the Internet--a vast network of computers
that connects people and information all over the world--and
points you to some of the many interesting, helpful, and fun
resources available online for parents and children.

You'll find that the vocabulary of computers is taken from
sources familiar to us. Computer language is borrowed from
travel: superhighway, engine, cruising, surfing, navigating;
from restaurants: menu, server; and from the environment: Web,
mouse, windows, site. Computer vocabulary can also be
descriptive of the movement or sound made to do something on the
computer: to "click" or "drag" the mouse, for example. Other
words come from words used for medieval manuscripts: icon,
scroll, cursor. In the following sections, you'll find several
key computer terms in italics. They are defined in the glossary
at the end of this booklet.

You can see there is a great deal of variety in the thinking
behind computers. Since the computer world is constantly growing
and changing, there is some variety among different systems and
software, as well. As you begin using the computer, you may
notice some differences between instructions given in this
booklet and the system you use. Feel free to experiment and
explore.

You might want to use this booklet as a tutorial to help you
learn. You can use the sites suggested in various sections to
try out the computer. Remember, if you have questions, your
children may know the answers. Don't hesitate to ask them.
That's how we encourage our children to learn. You will find
that your children, local librarians, friends, teachers, and
others familiar with computers will be able to help.

Have a pleasant and safe journey down the information
superhighway!

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What Is the Information Superhighway?

When we talk about getting online, we mean being connected to
the Internet--a giant network of computers that connects people
and information all over the world. The Internet has a lot in
common with other forms of communication:

  * Like the U.S. Postal Service, the Internet allows anyone who
    knows your Internet address to send you a letter. (It's
    called electronic mail, or e-mail for short).

  * Like the telephone, the Internet allows you to "chat" with
    other people by participating in online discussion groups.

  * Like the library, the Internet contains information on
    almost any topic you can imagine in many formats, including
    books, articles, videos, and music recordings.

  * Like the newspaper, the Internet can give you new
    information every day, including world news, business,
    sports, travel, entertainment, and ads.

In addition to words, one part of the Internet--the World Wide
Web (often shortened to WWW or the Web)--is especially
interesting to people because it includes pictures and sounds.

A Short History Lesson

The Internet began in the 1960s as a U.S. Department of Defense
communication network. Soon after, university researchers and
professors began to use it to communicate with others in their
fields. Internet use really took off in the early 1990s with the
arrival of the Web, which made it easier to find and view
information online. Today, millions of people throughout the
world are connected to the Internet. No one--no country,
organization, or company--is in charge of the Internet; it's
growing and being changed by its users every day.

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Benefits of Getting on the Information Superhighway

A computer that is connected to the Internet allows you to turn
your home, community center, local library, or school into a
place of unlimited information and communication. The Internet
can help your family:

  * Find educational resources, including up-to-the minute news,
    copies of important documents and photos, and collections of
    research information on topics ranging from weather
    conditions to population statistics.

  * Get help with homework through online encyclopedias and
    other reference materials and access to experts.

  * Increase reading skills by providing access to interesting
    materials and suggestions for additional reading.

  * Improve technology and information skills necessary to find
    and use information, solve problems, communicate with
    others, and meet a growing demand for these skills in the
    workplace.

  * Connect with places around the world to exchange mail with
    electronic pen pals and learn about other cultures and
    traditions.

  * Locate parenting information and swap ideas with other
    families.

  * Learn and have fun together by sharing interesting and
    enjoyable experiences.

In the next few sections, we'll discuss what you need to start
using the Internet.

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Starting the Engine

It's not necessary to buy a computer to begin exploring the
Internet. You may be able to get started using free facilities
in your community. Try:
  * A public institution such as a library or community center.
    Some public housing complexes also have free computer
    centers with online access for their residents.

  * Your children's school or a community college or university,
    if you're taking a class.

  * Your employer, who may encourage you to learn new online
    skills by using company computer equipment for a limited
    amount of time each day.

  * Your local shopping mall, which may have a room with
    computers for use by those visiting the mall.

Some communities sponsor freenets to give all their members free
access to a wealth of information. To see if there is a freenet
in your area, have someone with Web access go to
http://www.lights.com/freenet/

Understanding the Basics

To take advantage of online offerings, you need to use a
computer set up with certain hardware (equipment) and software
(instruction programs for the computer) as well as online
access. Internet essentials include:
  * A computer with a monitor (screen), a keyboard for typing
    text and numbers onto the screen, and a mouse, (a small
    hand- controlled device for pointing and clicking to select
    choices on the screen.) You may also want a printer, which
    will allow you to get paper copies of what you see on a
    screen.

  * A modem (either inside your computer or as a separate piece
    of equipment outside) to allow your computer to communicate
    with other computers through the phone line. Communications
    software works with the modem to give the computer
    instructions for connecting to the online world.

  * A connection to the Internet through either an Internet
    Service Provider (ISP) or an online service. An ISP simply
    offers connection to the Internet, while an online service
    provides additional services (See below "Internet Service
    Provider or Online Service: Which is Right for My Family?").

  * Software for using the Internet (may already be provided on
    the computer or through the Internet connection). To move
    around on the Web, you'll need Web browser software such as
    Netscape Navigator or Communicator or NCSA Mosaic. You'll
    also need software such as Eudora or cc:mail for sending and
    receiving electronic mail.

Internet Service Provider or Online Service:
Which Is Right for My Family?

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides you with the
software you need to get on the Internet. ISPs include local and
regional companies, nationwide providers such as UUNet and
Netcom, and telecommunications companies such as AT&T and MCI.
If your family is ready to explore the Internet independently,
an ISP can be a wise choice. Ask a friend with Web access to
download and print for you a list of ISPs for your area using
the Web address http://www.thelist.com.

Online services such as America Online and Prodigy offer members
partial or full Internet access along with a number of
additional resources, such as travel planning, financial
management services, children's areas, and chat rooms in which
several individuals participate in a group discussion about a
selected topic at the same time. Although many of the resources
available through online services can also be found on the
Internet, online services organize them attractively and make
them easy for you and your children to access with the click of
a mouse. Within their own resource areas, online services can
also exercise more control over what their members see and do by
blocking access to certain sites and monitoring communication,
particularly in children's areas.

Before you choose, you should consider:
  * Cost. Will you pay a monthly fee for unlimited usage or are
    charges based on the actual time online? Will you pay the
    price of a local call or a long-distance call each time you
    go online?

  * Assistance. If you have trouble with your connection, what
    kind of telephone help (sometimes called technical support)
    is available?

  * Contract. Some ISPs and online services offer free trial
    periods or allow you to get a refund for the unused part of
    a service contract. This can be helpful as you experiment to
    find the best arrangement for your family.

Be aware that while you're online, the modem will be using your
phone. You won't be able to make or receive any telephone calls
until you disconnect from the Internet or unless you have a
separate phone line for your modem.

Buying the Set Up You Need

If you're thinking about buying a computer set up to go on the
Internet, keep these considerations in mind:

Talk with your family and decide how the computer will be used.
Will you be using the computer mostly for typing (word
processing) school assignments, sending e-mail, and browsing the
Web? Do you plan to purchase additional software and games that
will require a CD-ROM drive? Do you need sound and video
capabilities for games and some World Wide Web sites, or can you
do without these functions for a while?

Do your homework. You can get guidance about buying a computer
from many sources:
  * Consumer guides, computer magazines, and books available at
    the library.
  * Family members, friends, coworkers, and computer experts at
    your child's school or your workplace.
  * Workshops or classes sponsored by community colleges,
    libraries, and computer stores.
  * Computer user groups.

Become familiar with computer features so you can decide what
makes sense for your family. A computer's capabilities depend
on:
  * the size of its memory, measured in megabytes (MB) of RAM
    (random access memory),
  * the speed of its processor, measured in megahertz (MHz),
  * the size of its hard drive, measured in megabytes or
    gigabytes (GB), and
  * the speed of its modem, measured in kilobits per second
    (Kbps).

The greater these capabilities, the more quickly you'll be able
to move around the Internet, look at Web sites, save, and print
files--the more expensive you'll find the set up.

Decide whether to invest in new or used equipment. When you buy
a new computer, you'll generally receive everything you need to
go online immediately. You'll probably be advised to buy the
biggest hard drive, the most memory, and the fastest processor
and modem that you an afford, so your computer has enough
capacity to work well now and in the future. You'll spend
somewhere between $1,200 and several thousand dollars.

For several hundred dollars, in contrast, you may be able to buy
an older model used computer and a printer, and add a modem and
communications software. This set up may be all your family
needs to write letters and school reports, use e-mail, and
browse the Web. Of course there will be tradeoffs in terms of
speed and performance, and you may run a higher risk of
equipment breakdown. Some stores specialize in refurbishing used
equipment, or inspecting it and replacing worn parts. If you
take this route, find out what parts are new before you buy and
ask whether you can get a warranty. Also, with any used set up,
make sure that any software that is included is licensed, rather
than an illegal copy.

Add upgrades over time.You can buy additions you want or need
later and install the upgrades yourself as you learn more about
working with computers. Before you buy software, ask someone you
know with Web access to check a site like Tucows
http://www.tucows.com or Stroud http://www.stroud.com to learn
what free and low-cost programs are available through the
Internet.

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Navigating the Journey

On any trip, you need a map with guideposts to navigate well.
This section offers some basics to help you begin to explore the
World Wide Web and communicate with others on the Internet.

Surfing the Net or Cruising the Superhighway

When you go on the Internet, you may have a specific destination
in mind, or you may wish to browse through the Web, the way you
would browse through a library or a catalog, looking for topics
or things that interest you. This browsing is often called
surfing the Net or cruising the Superhighway. There are several
ways to get around on the Web.

  * Using Web addresses. To get to a special destination, such
    as one of the sites described in Sites Along the Way, you'll
    type in an internet address in the space provided on the Web
    browser. Web addresses, sometimes called uniform resource
    locators (URL), begin with http://, which stands for
    hypertext transfer protocol. After you type in the Web
    address, it may take awhile for the site's home page to
    appear on the screen, especially if it includes many
    pictures. Once it does, you'll probably see several choices
    you can click your mouse on to take you further into the
    site. (If you type in an address incorrectly, or too many
    people are trying to use a site at once, you'll get an error
    message on your computer screen. Just try again).

  * Following links. Many sites include hypertext links to other
    sites with related content. When you click on one of these
    highlighted areas, your computer will connect to another Web
    site without your having to know or type its address.

  * Using search engines. Search engines are programs that you
    can select from your Web browser to enable you to search the
    Internet by keywords or topics. If you or your child are
    interested in finding out more about Jackie Robinson, for
    example, you can click on a search engine, enter his name,
    then pull up several Web sites for further exploration.

Using the Internet To Do a School Project

Assignment: Write a 2-3 page essay on the life of Jackie
Robinson. Include facts about his life, his greatest
accomplishments, and why you believe he deserves a place in
history.

Here's how you can find the information to do this project:

  * Sign onto the Internet; once connected, click the mouse on
    the search key.

  * From the menu, select a search engine based on your topic.
    (Here we have selected AltaVista).

  * At the subject box, type in Jackie Robinson and click  on
    the search key.

  * Review search results: "Found 1 category and 19 site matches
    for Jackie Robinson."

  * Select one or all site matches (all sites are underlined).
    Each site has additional sites for more information.

  * Print or download all the information you need for the
    essay.

  * Use this information to write your report.

Examples of search engines include:

Infoseek
http://www.infoseek.com

Webcrawler
http://webcrawler.com

Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com

Yahooligans (for children)
http://www.yahooligans.com

You can find these search engines and many more at the
All-in-One site http://www.albany.net/allinone/ or your web
browser's home page. If a search on one doesn't produce good
results, try another.

  * Using bookmarks. As you look through the Internet, you'll
    probably find sites you'll want to revisit. If so, you can
    create a bookmark by saving the address on your computer,
    usually with just a click of the mouse. The help feature on
    your Web browser can give you specific instructions. When
    you want to return to the site, you'll just click its
    address on your list.

Saving Information from the Internet

In your travels on the Internet, you'll probably come across
information you want to keep. You can either make a paper or
"hard" copy directly from the Web, or you can download a copy of
the information onto your own computer.

  * Printing a copy. While you're looking at the information you
    wish to print, you can click on the print command or icon,
    and the printer connected to the computer will print a copy
    for you. Using the mouse, you can also highlight the
    information you would like to print and click on the print
    command or icon. Text usually prints quickly, but graphics
    can take a long time. If you don't need the images, you may
    wish to check your online help feature to see how to remove
    them before printing.

  * Downloading a copy. If you'd like to be able to use the
    information you've found on the Internet on your own
    computer (perhaps to include it in a report or send it by
    e-mail to someone else), you can use your mouse to click on
    a command or icon to download it. Be careful, though. When
    you travel online, you can bring back viruses, or
    programs that can destroy your personal files and software.
    For protection, it's important to buy--and regularly
    update--an anti-virus program. For added safety, download
    files and e-mail messages to a disk and do a virus check
    before copying the information to the hard drive inside your
    computer.

Electronic Communication

The most popular online activity is communicating with
individuals and groups through
e-mail, listserv, and Usenet newsgroups.

  * E-mail. You and your children may want to send notes to
    friends and family. To send an e-mail message, you'll need
    the e-mail address of the person to whom you are sending a
    message. E-mail addresses often start with a version of the
    person's name and continue with the "at" sign (@), the
    Internet service provider's name (usually abbreviated), a
    period (called "dot"), and a three-letter extension.
    Extensions include com for businesses, edu for educational
    institutions, gov or mil for the federal government, org for
    nonprofit organizations, and net for networks. Make sure
    that when you type an address, you key it exactly as it is
    given to you--copy the capitalization, spacing, and
    punctuation. Some examples of e-mail addresses are:

jdoe@ed.gov
cbass@school.edu
sgreene@nonprofit.org

Important: It's a good safety precaution to make up names and
never use your real name in order to make it difficult for
strangers to contact you and other family members by phone or in
person.

  * Listservs. You can use e-mail to participate in discussion
    groups focused on topics that interest you. When you put
    your name on a listserv, you can read all the messages sent
    to members of the group, and you, too, can send messages to
    the entire group. Each group has an administrator who sets
    the rules for how the group will operate. If the listserv is
    moderated, the administrator will also keep the discussion
    on track and make sure participants treat each other
    courteously, or follow Netiquette. A list of listservs and
    the e-mail addresses for subscribing to them is available
    from http://www.liszt.com/.

  * Usenet newsgroups. Usenet is a system of thousands of
    special interest groups that allows people to post messages
    for anyone else to read. Readers can respond by posting a
    general message or sending an e-mail to the author of an
    earlier message. Unlike listservs, usenet newsgroups do not
    require people to subscribe; however, newsgroups must be
    registered with Usenet. You can probably find newsgroups
    through your Internet Service Provider. Most ISPs let you
    search for newsgroups that interest you by using keywords.
    Try "parenting," for example. Because Usenet newsgroup
    messages can take up a lot of space, ISPs aren't able to
    carry all newsgroups. If you know of a newsgroup that you
    can't find through your ISP, ask to see whether it can be
    added.

Caution: Most newsgroups are not moderated; no one keeps the
discussion focused on the topic or exercises control over
inappropriate behavior. Some topics are not suitable for
children.

Children with Special Needs

Children with special needs can often benefit from the use of
assistive technology to support communication, self-expression
and positive social interaction. Parents and teachers tell
stories of children who overcome obstacles and achieve success
online--the child with a writing disability who wins second
place in a nationwide writing contest or the teenager with a
learning disability who becomes an electronic pen pal with a
scientist across the country who shares his fascination with
fossils

Technology is available to help people with special needs. If
your child has a mobility or sensory impairment, for example,
you may decide to replace the mouse with another device for
giving the computer commands. A joystick, for instance, can be
controlled with the entire hand. Other devices require only a
single finger for control. Magnifying the screen can help
individuals with low vision, while voice synthesis technology
can read screen information to those who are blind.

The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education
operated by the Council for Exceptional Children offers
information about disabilities and accommodations. Call
1-800-328-0272 or TTY 703-264-9449, send e-mail to
ericec@cec.sped.org, or visit the Web site
http://www.cec.sped.org/ericec.htm .

Other Web sites are also helpful. For example, Winners on Wheels
is a team-oriented youth program that uses learning and fun to
promote self-esteem and independence in children with
disabilities http://www.wowusa.com/. Visit
http://www.isc.rit.edu/~easi/ which provides information on
adaptive computer technology for individuals with disabilities.
Starbright, another site, applies the latest advancement in
technology to positively affect the lives of disabled children
http://www.starbright.org.

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Tips for Safe Traveling

Like most parents, you probably have rules for how your children
should deal with strangers, which TV shows, movies, and videos
they're allowed to watch, what stores they're allowed to enter,
and where and how far from home they're allowed to travel. It's
important to make similar rules for your children's Internet use
and to be aware of their online activities.

You'll also want to make sure that surfing the Net doesn't take
the place of homework, social activities, or other important
interests. You might even set an alarm clock or timer if you or
your child tend to lose track of time. This section offers tips
for ensuring that your children have safe, productive, and
enjoyable experiences on the Internet.

Interacting with Others on the Internet

Just as we tell our children to be wary of strangers they meet,
we need to tell them to be wary of strangers on the Internet.
Most people behave reasonably and decently online, but some are
rude, mean, or even criminal. Teach your children that they
should:

  * Never give out personal information (including their name,
    home address, phone number, age, race, family income, school
    name or location, or friends' names) or use a credit card
    online without your permission.

  * Never share their password, even with friends.

  * Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they meet
    online unless you approve of the meeting and go with them to
    a public place.

  * Never respond to messages that make them feel confused or
    uncomfortable. They should ignore the sender, end the
    communication, and tell you or another trusted adult right
    away.

  * Never use bad language or send mean messages online.

Also, make sure your children know that people they meet online
are not always who they say they are and that online information
is not necessarily private.

Limiting Children to Appropriate Content on the Internet

Even without trying, your children can come across materials on
the Internet that are obscene, pornographic, violent, hate
filled, racist, or offensive in other ways. One type of
material--child pornography--is illegal. You should report it to
the Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling
1-800-THE LOST (843-5678) or going to
http://www.missingkids.org/. While other offensive material is
not illegal, there are steps you can take to keep it away from
your children and out of your home.

  * Make sure your children understand what you consider
    appropriate for them. What kinds of sites are they welcome
    to visit? What areas are off limits? How much time can they
    spend, and when? How much money, if any, can they spend? Set
    out clear, reasonable rules and consequences for breaking
    them.

  * Make online exploration a family activity. Put the computer
    in the living room or family room. This arrangement involves
    everyone and helps you monitor what your children are doing.

  * Pay attention to games your older child might download or
    copy. Some are violent or contain sexual content.

  * Look into software or online services that filter out
    offensive materials and sites. Options include stand alone
    software that can be installed on your computer, and devices
    that label or filter content directly on the web. In
    addition, many Internet Service Providers and commercial
    online services offer site blocking, restrictions on
    incoming e-mail, and children's accounts that access
    specific services. Often, these controls are available at no
    additional cost. Be aware, however, children are often smart
    enough to get around these restrictions. Nothing can replace
    your supervision and involvement.

  * Find out what the Internet use policy is at your local
    library.

  * Ask about the Internet use policy at your child's school.

Encouraging Information Literacy

Show your children how to use and evaluate information they find
on the Internet. Not all online information is reliable. Some
individuals and organizations are very careful about the
accuracy of the information they post, but others are not. Some
even mislead on purpose. Remind your children not to copy online
information and claim it's their own or copy software unless it
is clearly labeled as free.

Help children understand the nature of commercial information,
advertising, and marketing, including who created it and why it
exists. Encourage them to think about why something is provided
and appears in a specific way. Steer your children to
noncommercial sites and other places that don't sell products
specifically to children. It is important to be aware of the
potential risks involved in going online, but it is also
important to keep them in perspective. Common sense and clear
guidelines are the place to start.

----------
Supporting School Use of Technology

You can encourage your children's online activities at home and
at school. Talk with your children, school staff, and other
parents about what online experiences are already part of
classroom activities and what is being planned. Get involved by:

  * Helping schools get technology, including used equipment
    from government agencies or businesses. For information on
    computer recycling, visit
    http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/recycle_index.html
    and the Computer Recycling Project at
    http://www.voicenet.com/~cranmer/recycling.html.

  * Helping your school and community participate in NetDay, a
    grassroots volunteer effort to wire schools so their
    computers are networked and have Internet access
    http://www.netday.org/.

  * Sharing your expertise by volunteering in the classroom or
    organizing training for teachers and other parents.

  * Asking your local PTA to set up a "family night" on
    computers, technology, and the Internet.

  * Helping schools develop "rules of the road" that are
    discussed with students before they go online.

  * Joining the school's technology planning group.

Special Opportunity for Schools

In May 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
approved a rule (known as the E-rate) giving schools 20 to 90
percent discounts in access charges to the Internet and
telecommunications services, including wiring school buildings
for the Internet. (The amount of the discount depends on how
many low-income students a school serves and whether it is
located in a rural, suburban, or urban area). Starting in
January 1998, more than $2 billion a year will be available for
the discounts (see http://www.fcc.gov/learnnet/ and
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/ for more information).

To apply for a discount, a school must have a technology plan
that explains how the school will integrate technology into the
curriculum. The plan must also address hardware, software,
training, and maintenance issues. As a parent, you can play an
active role in helping your school develop a technology plan.

----------
Sites Along the Way

This section offers a sampling of some Internet sites waiting
for you and your children. (Addresses are current as of November
1997 but may change at any time. If an address does not work,
use the search feature on your Web browser to enter the site
name and get the updated link).

Family-Friendly Places

  * The Franklin Institute Science Museum http://sln.fi.edu/
    offers online exhibits on an array of science and technology
    topics.

  * Find good books to read, including Newbery and Caldecott
    Award Winners, at the American Library Association site
    http://www.ala.org/parents/index.html. This site includes
    information about authors, KidsConnect (for help locating
    all the information online), and educational games.

  * Watch Live from Mars, audio and video transmissions of the
    Pathfinder's explorations, at NASA's Quest Project site
    http://quest.arc.nasa.gov. Find more adventures in space,
    including views from the Hubble Space Telescope, at a
    different NASA site http://spacelink.nasa.gov.

  * Climb Mt. Everest, explore inside the Pyramids, and go on
    other electronic field trips with the Public Broadcasting
    System at http://www.pbs.org/. Preschool children can enjoy
    children's programming here, elementary school children can
    practice story telling, and teenagers and adults can take
    telecourses.

  * Join an interactive exploration of the oceans, on earth and
    beyond, with the Jason Project http://www.jasonproject.org.

  * Puzzle over optical illusions, take memory tests, and
    conduct experiments, online and off, at the Exploratorium
    http://www.exploratorium.edu.

  * Enjoy materials from the Library of Congress
    http://www.loc.gov, including exhibits on topics ranging
    from ballet to Jelly Roll Morton, Native American flutes to
    Thomas Jefferson's pasta machine.

  * Read stories with your children, let them add to the stories
    told around the Global Campfire, and find links to other
    good family sites at Parents and Children Together Online
    http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/fl/pcto/menu.html.

  * Get educational resources through distance learning from
    Healthlinks http://www.mcet.edu/healthlinks/index.html.

  * Find information on blocking software from Netparents at
    http://www.netparents.org.

  * Try the Air Force's new family-friendly site for kids at
    http://www.af.mil/aflinkjr.

Megasites (extensive links)

  * 50+ Great Sites for Kids & Parents, from the American
    Library Association (ALA) enables preschool through
    elementary school children to explore rainbows, black
    history, castles for kids, award-winning news reported by
    children for children, the Kids Web Page Hall of Fame, to
    say nothing of watching dolphins, learning lullabies, and
    much more
    http://www.ssdesign.com/parentspage/greatsites/50.html.

  * Jean Armour Polly's Fifty Extraordinary Experiences for
    Internet Kids invites viewers to make their own home page,
    visit the Kremlin, look inside the human heart, take Socks'
    special VIP tour of the White House, and make a boat trip
    around the world
    http://www.well.com/user/polly/ikyp.exp.html.

  * Berit's Best Sites for Children helps you learn about
    earthquakes, visit the imagination factory and make junk
    mail jewelry, descend into a volcano, tour a human cell, go
    on a world "surfari," solve a crime, and fly a kite
    http://db.cochran.com/db_HTML:theopage.db.

  * Steve Savitzky's Interesting Places for Kids is an
    award-winning site in its own right with many unusual links
    http://www.crc.ricoh.com/people/steve/kids.html.

Online Reference Material

  * The American Academy of Pediatrics' http://www.aap.org has a
    wide variety of information for parents concerning their
    children's health and well-being; covering topics such as
    immunizations, sleep problems, newborn care, and television.

  * The National Urban Leaguehttp://www.nul.org is a useful
    resource for tracking programs and events related to
    African-American issues. It is a rich reference area for
    students, parents, teachers and history buffs.

  * AskERIC, a free question-answering service provided by the
    Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), invites
    people to submit their questions about education, parenting,
    and child development to askeric@askeric.org for an e-mail
    response within 2 working days.

  * B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper is a wonderful guide to
    encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference works, and other
    resources on a great variety of subjects
    http://tristate.pgh.net/~pinch13/. The enthusiasm of its
    10-year-old creator adds appeal to everything from the
    Ultimate White Pages to Bugs in the News.

  * My Virtual Reference Desk http://www.refdesk.com offers
    dozens of links--to dictionaries, encyclopedias,
    reference/research materials, thesauruses, atlases, sports,
    entertainment, and much more--as well as a search engine for
    locating more information.

  * The Internet Public Library: Reference Center
    http://www.ipl.org/ref provides an "ask a question" feature
    and a teen collection, as well as sections on reference,
    arts and humanities, science and technology, and education.

Sites for Parents and Parent Groups

  * The Children's Partnership
    http://www.childrenspartnership.org offers, for free, the
    full text of its useful guide, The Parents' Guide to the
    Information Superhighway: Rules and Tools for Families
    Online, prepared with the National PTA and the National
    Urban League. A printed version of the guide, which provides
    common-sense guidance and encouragement for parents and tips
    and computer activities for children, is available for $8
    from The Children's Partnership, 1351 Third Street
    Promenade, Suite 206, Santa Monica, CA 90401-1321;
    310-260-1220.

  * The National Parent Information Network http://npin.org
    cosponsored by the ERIC Clearinghouses on Elementary and
    Early Childhood Education and Urban Education, includes
    extensive articles on parenting, listservs, and links to
    more than 100 sites on education, health and safety, family
    issues and interests, and parenting and development of
    children from infancy to adolescence.

  * At the National PTA site http://www.pta.org/ learn about PTA
    education programs and participate in a discussion group,
    chat room, or bulletin board. The site also includes links
    to sites of many organizations concerned with children.

  * The Family Education Network http://www.familyeducation.com
    offers hundreds of brief articles on parenting, links to
    local sites, and discussion boards that connect parents with
    online experts.

  * The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
    http://www.ed.gov/PFIE sponsored by the U.S. Department of
    Education, highlights school-community- business
    partnerships and includes a calendar of events. At the home
    page for the Department of Education http://www.ed.gov,
    parents will find information about the President's
    education initiatives, college financial aid, and parenting
    publications, along with links to other useful education
    sites.

  * The National Coalition for Parental Involvement in Education
    http://www.ncpie.org/ provides a catalog of resources
    available from all its member organizations.

  * The National Coalition of Title I/Chapter 1 Parents
    202-547-9286 helps economically disadvantaged parents
    develop skills to enhance the quality of their children's
    education.

  * Parent Soup http://www.parentsoup.com includes an archive of
    answers to questions asked of pediatricians and child
    development experts and advice about helping your children
    succeed in school.

  * The Parents at Home site http://advicom.net/~jsm/moms,
    especially for at-home parents, offers e-mail pen pals, a
    booklist, and links to children's sites.

  * Magellan http://www.mckinley.com/magellan uses a rating
    scale to evaluate parenting sites. To look at the ratings or
    follow the links, select Reviews, Life & Style, Family, and
    Parenting.

  * The ASPIRA Association, Inc. http://www.incacorp.com/aspira
    highlights its two national parent involvement
    programs--ASPIRA Parents for Educational Excellence Program
    (APEX) and Teachers, Organizations, and Parents for Students
    Program (TOPS). Each program provides a Spanish/English
    curriculum that strives to empower Latino parents and
    families.

  * The White House web site
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Ratings describes a
    strategy to involve government, industry, parent, and
    teachers in putting together a rating system so parents can
    define material they consider offensive and protect their
    children effectively.

----------
Glossary

ADDRESS: The unique location of an information site on the
Internet, a specific file (for example, a Web page), or an email
user.

BOOKMARK: A saved link to a Web site that has been added to a
list of saved links so that you can simply click on it rather
than having to retype the address when visiting the site again.

CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory): A computer disk that can
store large amounts of information and is generally used on
computers with CD-ROM drives.

CHAT ROOM: A location on an online service that allows users to
communicate with each other about an agreed-upon topic in "real
time" (or "live"), as opposed to delayed time as with email.

DOWNLOAD: To copy a file from one computer system to another.
>From the Internet user's point of view, to download a file is to
request it from another computer (or from a Web page on another
computer) and to receive it.

EMAIL (Electronic Mail): A way of sending messages
electronically from one computer to another, generally through a
modem and telephone line connected to a computer.

FREENET: A community network that provides free online access,
usually to local residents, and often includes its own forums
and news.

HARDWARE: A term for the nuts, bolts, and wires of computer
equipment and the actual computer and related machines.

HOME PAGE: The site that is the starting point on the World Wide
Web for a particular group or organization.

HYPERTEXT LINK: An easy method for retrieving information by
choosing highlighted words or icons on the screen. The link will
take you to related documents or sites.

HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL: A standard used by World Wide Web
servers to provide rules for moving text, images, sound, video,
and other multimedia files across the Internet.

ICON: A small picture on a Web page that represents the topic or
information category of another Web page. Frequently, the icon
is a hypertext link to that page.

INTERNET: A worldwide collection of computer networks that
allows people to find and use information and communicate with
others.

ISP (Internet Service Provider): A generic term for any company
that can connect you directly to the Internet.

MODEM: A device that allows computers to communicate with each
other over telephone lines or other delivery systems by changing
digital signals to telephone signals for transmission and then
back to digital signals. Modems come in different speeds: the
higher the speed, the faster the data is transmitted.

MOUSE: A small device attached to the computer by a cord, which
lets you give commands to the computer. The mouse controls an
arrow on the computer screen and allows you to point and click
to make selections.

NETIQUETTE: Rules or manners for interacting courteously with
others online (such as not typing a message in all capital
letters, which is equivalent to shouting).

ONLINE SERVICE: A company such as America Online or Prodigy that
provides its members access to the Internet through its own
special user interface as well as additional services such as
chat rooms, children's areas, travel planning, and financial
management.

SEARCH ENGINE: A program that performs keyword searches for
information on the Internet.

SOFTWARE: A computer program or set of instructions. System
software operates on the machine itself and is invisible to you.
Application software allows you to carry out certain activities,
such as word processing, games, and spreadsheets.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The World Wide Web address of a
site on the Internet. For example, the URL for the White House
is http://www.whitehouse.gov.

USENET NEWSGROUPS: A system of thousands of special interest
groups to which readers can send or "post" messages; these
messages are then distributed to other computers on the network.
Usenet registers newsgroups, which are available through
Internet Service Providers.

VIRUS: A piece of programming code inserted into other
programming to cause some unexpected and usually undesirable
event, such as lost or damaged files. Viruses can be transmitted
by downloading programming from other sites or be present on a
diskette. The source of the file you're downloading or of a
diskette you've received is often unaware of the virus. The
virus lies dormant until circumstances cause its code to be
executed by the computer.

WEB BROWSER: A software program that lets you find, see, and
hear material on the World Wide Web, including text, graphics,
sound, and video. Popular browsers are Netscape, and AltaVista.
Most online services have their own browsers.

WORLD WIDE WEB (Web or WWW): A hypertext-based system that
allows you to browse through a variety of linked Internet
resources organized by colorful, graphics-oriented home pages.

----------
Acknowledgments

The Parents Guide to the Internet was made possible with the
contributions of many people. We would like to acknowledge and
pay special thanks to Paulette Lee of the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement and to Aspen Systems for writing this
Guide. Our thanks, also, to all of those inside and outside the
Department of Education who contributed their time, effort, and
expertise to help produce this booklet. We are especially
grateful to the following organizations for their invaluable
review of this publication: The Partnership for Family
Involvement in Education, the Children's Partnership, the
American Library Association, National Parent Information
Network, the National PTA, the American Academy of Pediatrics,
the National Coalition of Chapter I/Title I Parents National
Parent Center, the ASPIRA Association, Project OPEN, and the
National Urban League. A special thanks to Laurie Lipper for
approval to include in the Guide portions of the glossary from
the Children's Partnership's Parents' Guide to the Information
Superhighway; to Tony Sorrentino of the Franklin Institute for
sharing their outstanding online checklists; to David Eisner and
Randy Legersky of America OnLine for providing the Parental
Control screen graphic representation and to AltaVista for
approval to use a representational drawing of its search engine.

Particular acknowledgments go to Cynthia Dorfman, Linda Roberts,
Terry Peterson, Barbara Vespucci, Kathy Perkinson, Kirk Winters,
Adriana De Kanter, Lidice Rivas, and Julie Kaminkow of the U.S.
Department of Education; Tom Kalil of the National Economic
Council; and Jim Zawada of the Consumer Information Center for
their valuable insights, critiques, and constant support
throughout the development of this publication. Also, thanks to
Kim Silverman for the cover design and layout, John Lee for the
photographs, Roberta Toth for the illustrations, and Chris
Sheedy for editing the Guide.

Our appreciation to the those who allowed us to use their
photographs in the cover design: Celest Washington, Ameia
Moore-Stone, Kimanique Moore, Hieu Vu, and Brian Vu.

We are indebted to the staffs of: the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement's Media and Information Services; the
Office of Technology; Planning and Evaluation Service; the
National Library of Education; Office of Public Affairs; Office
of the General Counsel; Office of Vocational and Adult
Education; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services; Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination; and the
Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs for the
important roles they played in helping to bring this book to
print.

----------
Reviewers

American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.AAP.org

American Library Association
http://www.ALA.org

ASPIRA
http://www.incacorp.com/aspira

The Children's Partnership
http://www.childrenspartnership.org

The National PTA
http://www.PTA.org

The National Coalition of Title I/Chapter 1 Parents
National Parent Center
202-547-9286

The National Parent Information Network
http://www.npin.org

The National Urban League
http://www.nul.org

The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
http://www.ed.gov/PFIE

Project OPEN
http://www.isa.net/project-open

----------
End of Document

