2. Social Networks 101: Facts
of Life
privacy controls to limit who sees your information.
older than 13 to have a profile, but younger kids set
up accounts anyway.
keep kids connected to friends and provide a
space for self-expression.
no guarantees of privacy (even with settings) --
anything can be cut, pasted, and sent.
inappropriate pictures, posts, or messages can result
in damage to a kid's reputation.
kids can "tag" (or identify) their friends; this can
violate their friends' privacy.
4. Parent Tips for Young Kids
Most of these sites are for 7-12 year olds.
If you wouldn’t let your children have an unsupervised
play date, don’t let them online by themselves.
Do your homework.
Set non-negotiable time limits.
Establish codes of conduct.
Show kids how to flag inappropriate conduct.
Make sure your children never share their passwords.
Talk about money and what it means to your family.
Keep the computer in a central place.
11. http://www.edmodo.com/
At Edmodo, we help teachers make their
classroom a community.
Edmodo provides teachers and students a secure
place to connect and collaborate, share content
and educational applications, and access
homework, grades, class discussions and
notifications. Our goal is to help educators harness
the power of social media to customize the
classroom for each and every learner.
Editor's Notes
Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets, and texts have become a regular part of our kids' lives. In today's 24/7 digital world, kids are logging on from everywhere, including smartphones, gaming devices, tablets, and laptops, and many parents simply don't know what their kids are up to, much less much about the social media they're using.There are many positives to social media. It's a fun way for kids to interact with friends. It can also be a great way to learn new things, collaborate with others, express creativity, and safely experiment with identity.
Younger kids shouldn’t play. If kids can’t read or write, they shouldn’t be in online worlds. There are perfectly fun sites aimed at pre-school kids that are more age- appropriate.Remember, the social skills they bring to online worlds are the same ones they have (or don’t have) in real life.. Make sure you check out sites before you let your kids go online. And don’t just have your children stop at the most popular social ones. There are also great sites that are educational.And make sure online play is balanced with real-life play.A good rule of thumb: If your kids wouldn’t say something to someone’s face, they should not say it in cyberspace.It’s easy for parents to learn how to use the flagging feature and it’s important to show your kids how to use it, too. Explain that this is a healthy way to keep social networking sites safe and fun for everyone.Often kids will give another child a password for help in a game. Explain that giving away a password is like giving someone your identity.These sites rely on currency for buying extras. Don’t let a social network site that needs customer loyalty in order to be profitable teach your kids about earning, saving, and spending. Explain your values.This will let you monitor your child’s online life.
