Now we
have plenty of ways to share images and information.
Cell phones, text messaging, web cams, camera
phones, web sites, blogging, and more.
Kids can even print their own 'zines and newsletters
using just a pc, a printer, and some desktop
publishing software. The truth is, the
power that was once held by a few, and tightly
controlled by big business and government
bureaucracy, is now available to vast numbers of teenagers...
READ MORE to find out how kids like
you are changing the world!
Surfing The Web Safely
You may already know that
there's a lot you can do online -- playing games, looking up facts for
school or just for fun, searching for video clips from
your favorite TV show, writing a blog or online journal to share
your thoughts with the world, chatting in AIM or on a chat board, or
just checking your email. When you get older, you'll even be
able to take care of your bank account, buy your groceries and
schedule their delivery, or browse the menu for your favorite local
restaurant. There's obviously a lot you can do online.
Of course there
are some things you should NOT do as well. (See
Play It Safe Online,
below.) One of the most
things is to check with
your parents(or teacher, if you're surfing at school) before
you download anything or open any attachments that come in email. Please remember that computer
viruses, trojan horses, spyware and computer worms can get into your
computer and cause terrible damage to programs and files. They
can also mess up your computer enough that you won't be able to use
it -- until someone figures out how to fix it. And that might
even involve erasing all your favorite files and reformatting your hard
drive.
Also,
never give
out your personal information while you're online,
not without getting the "okay" from your parents (or teacher) first.
This means, don't give out your phone number, address, or last name.
Even your email
information should not be shared with strangers,
unless you and your parents agree the person is "okay". At the
very least, giving out your information online will mean that you'll be
swamped with email, and possibly even phone calls, from people trying to
sell you something or even cheat you with phony offers. Even
worse, someone creepy may start bothering you, try to find you, or even
try to get information out of you to help them commit identity fraud
(like getting a credit card in your name, buying stuff, and letting the
bill come to you -- for YOU to pay).
We also want to
remind you to
stay away from "adult sites", those that have images
and information that you know were not intended for kids.
We're talking about the stuff that, if it was in a movie, would be
rated beyond R -- in other words, "no one under 18 allowed".
It may seem daring and exciting to wander into web sites like that,
but you should keep in mind that such material gets an "adults only"
rating because it is deemed upsetting or disturbing.
It might make
you feel frightened, confused, or even sick to your stomach.
It might be something even an adult would feel upset about seeing.
And chances are, if you've gone looking where you know mom and dad
don't want you to go, you're not going to feel comfortable going to
them to talk over how upset you are, or to ask questions about what
you've seen or read. And then you'll be stuck carrying
that sick feeling around, and those disturbing images that come up,
when you just want to forget them.
Consider, the world is a
big place. It's full of lots of things, some good, and some
not so good. And it's the same way on the Internet.
Usually as we get older, we find it easier to put these not-so-good
things in perspective. And therefore, find it easier not to
get so upset about them. But it's still challenging.
So take our advice. Don't go out there looking for things that
you know your parents want you to stay away from. Those things
will still be out there when you are older. And chances are,
when you come back then and check them out, you'll see you really
weren't missing all that much.
After all the best things
in life, online, are chatting with good friends, playing fun games
and watching silly clips, keeping up with your favorite artists, and learning something new
-- oh don't forget, creating
something interesting to share with others!
Surf around
Earth's Kidsfor all kinds of links to fun and exciting information,
games, chat boards, and more.
, drop us a line and add us as a friend.
We'd love to hear from you!
Cyber ethics for Kids
--
People who use the internet are sometimes called
"Cybercitizens". Learn the rules of the Internet so you
too can be a good cybercitizen.
Computers and Young Children,
We
highly recommend every parent and teacher introducing
children to computers read this important information
about how and when to introduce kids to computers.
Of course you can create your own online presence
with Facebook or
MySpace, but if you want to learn to do something more,
you might want to learn to work in HTML. Photoshop is another
great tool. It lets you crop your photos, shrink the data bits
down to web size, and even create cool effects. But it does take a
little while to learn...
Created in 1990
by Timer Berners Lee, HTML (short for Hypertext Markup Language) is
the mild mannered programming language used to create web pages.
The "tags" or code is hidden from visitors to website, but it is
what tells your computer's browser (web surfing software) what
colors to make the words on the screen, how big to make them, where
to place pictures, and so on.
Learning HTML for
Kids
is a free,
online tutorial that teaches kids all about HTML-- what it does and
how to use it. It will even talk you through building
your own super simple web page.
Fun
&
Silly Stuff
Wheel of
Fortune
-- play it
online. Pretend your right there with Pat and Vanna.
Cartoon
Network, Online Games
-- Hey look! It's
Puffi, Ami, Yumi and Teen Titans
along with Billy
&
Mandy and Totally Spies. There's supposed to be
over 100 games to play. Can you get your homework finished and
still have time to play them all? Probably not.
Gabbi's
Big Sailor Moon Page
-- Okay this is a shameless plug for a website made by an Earth's
Kids junior staff member. But if you love Sailor Moon, you'll
love the great links and pictures she's put together. You can also
surf her site to see her really cute pet pictures also. Rodney
the Guinea Pig, you're a star, baby!
Games,
activities, info on your favorite shows -- it's all here.
Be sure to surf their Kids Island, Toon Town, and Disney Blast
sections. Playhouse Disney is there too, for your little
brother or sister.
Want More??
Surf around
Earth's Kidsfor all kinds of links to fun and exciting information,
games, chat boards, and more.
Although most online games will let
kids get by with just pointing and clicking with the mouse, a lot of
useful stuff that we do on the computer involves using the keyboard.
If you want to write your own blog, participate in chat rooms, or
send email, you're going to need to learn how to type. If
you'd like to learn how to do more than hunting and pecking your way
around the keyboard try one of these online typing programs:
Practice simple
computer programming while creating geometric works of art.
After you click "start", be sure to click the "help" button.
This will give you the necessary instructions about what code to use
to get your turtle to start drawing shapes. This very
simple program is a great introduction to the idea of lines of code
and its relationship to action seen on the screen.
No programming experience required!
Klik &
Play makes it easy to create fun games without knowing a
programming language. All the game elements are can
simply be dragged & dropped into place,
frame by frame to make your game. Not only will you have a lot of
creative fun with this program, you just might learn a thing or two
about visual layout, planning, and creating in 3-dimensional layers.
Creates games for up to 4 players. Klik & Play
was first published in 1994 by Europress Software Ltd, and was the
first product of the "click" range.
Create amazing games with out any
programming! The Games Factory is a complete development package for
creating games and applications just by using your mouse to point
and click. You can create any type of 2D game you can think
of: arcade shooter, adventure, platform, and more! You can also use
TGF to make screen savers and other multimedia! It features
fast screen scrolling, fade effects, the ability to display FLI
animations, video for Windows, and QuickTime movies.
Liberty Basic is a programming
language that is easy to learn and and fun to use. Kids can
even use it to create their own games (see
samples). Best of all, it works with
Windows, and so do the programs you create. If you choose to
purchase the program, the manufacturers even through in a free
online programming class that offers nine lessons as well as online
help from a real instructor.
Visual Basic for Kids is 400+ page tutorial consisting of 10
classes (plus a new bonus class) explaining (in simple,
easy-to-follow terms) how to build a Visual Basic application. The
tutorial is written for and directed to kids. Kids learn about
project design, the Visual Basic toolbox, and many elements of the
BASIC language. Numerous examples are used to demonstrate every step
in the building process. The tutorial also includes several detailed
computer projects for kids to build and try. These projects include
a number guessing game, a card game, an allowance calculator, a
drawing program, a state capitals game, Tic-Tac-Toe and even a
simple video game.
This practical guide for programmers
in training features
hundreds of complete, working
examples and dozens of trails — groups of lessons on a
particular subject. For a complete overview of topics, read
the
Really Big Index
An integrated programming environment
designed for people who want to learn programming in Java but may
never have programmed before. It provides a simple yet powerful
programming editor coupled with built-in facilities for compiling
and running your programs. Only for Mac users.
Tutorials for writing and researching
reports with Microsoft office and Encarta, plus solving and graphing
math problems, and performing class presentations. Includes
subscription to online Encarta Encyclopedia. Available from Amazon.com
Mia's Math Adventure: Just In Time
Teaches addition, subtraction,
multiplication & division; geometry; logic; angles and lines, mental
computation & other skills
Age-appropriate difficulty levels that match national education
curriculum.
Great for K-6 with nine unique play areas
filled with more than 1,600 object-and-word searches in hundreds of
clever picture riddles, puzzles, and games,
Available from Amazon.com