Safe searching while on the internet
There are many search engines that allow children to search safely due to the child friendly content it manages due to specific filtering. These should be used by teachers and children alike to ensure filtered content that is inappropriate has been removed. As these search engines often use humans to filter out unsuitable sites, they are not in themselves, infallible. Many filters rely on pixilation of skin tone and once an image exceeds the agreed percentage deemed to be ‘unsafe’, the image is filtered. I’m sure we all have experiences where even with filters in place, images become visible. We can, however, reduce the instances by using ‘safe’ search engines and image sites when teaching or for the children to use while researching. Here is by no means a definitive list but a few suggestions to use:
Search engines
Ask Jeeves For Kids
www.askforkids.com – allows age-appropriate feature content and filtering technology to enable children to find both relevant and appropriate information on the Web.
It is designed to be a child-friendly way to search online with a focus on learning and educational. Ask for Kids enables children to even type in questions in a way that they would ask an adult in order to find an answer.
KidsClick
www.kidsclick.org/ – this is a service developed by librarians which includes searches and image sites
Swiggle
www.swiggle.org.uk – this is the SWGfL site which has a built in search option. By searching from a safe site, this reduces the incidence of inappropriate material popping up. It is always inadvisable for children to be left unsupervised when surfing the net. An adult should always be present and should any unsuitable material slip through, then the children should be taught what to do whether it is activating Hector and/or informing an adult as soon as possible.
Safe Search
www.primaryschoolict.com – is a site powered by Google which offers an ideal place from which to begin searches for sites and images.
If you are just looking for images, there are a number of sites that are appropriate to use in school, here’s a few:
www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/clipart
This post is intended to give an overview of some of the resources available on the internet. It is not intended to be a definitive list, but a list of those sites I have used in class with children of varying ages. Teachers are always advised to check the copyright restrictions in place for using or downloading images as well as the relevance and child-friendliness of the information required PRIOR to using them in the classroom.
nickynewbury 