Not many Internet companies know more about parental controls than AOL, which has been providing a range of them longer than I've been writing about youth and tech (since '97!). So I was interested to hear that AOL was releasing two very Web 2.0 tools, one free, the other $9.99/month. First the free one: 1. Safety Toolbar This light little software app, which AOL says takes about a minute to … [Read more...] about AOL’s two new, easy-to-use safety tools
monitoring
Monitoring apps for kids’ cellphones
Parental control apps for cellphones – either downloadable ones or the controls provided by the carriers themselves – aren't new, but their numbers are growing. The toughest nut to crack in this category, according to the Wall Street Journal, has been monitoring kids' texts and calls, but that's changing too. "Due to privacy concerns ... carriers can't monitor the content of text messages and … [Read more...] about Monitoring apps for kids’ cellphones
A new kind of online kid monitoring
Kid online safety needs to be a conversation. You know what I mean. The part of the Net that really interests youth is the user-driven, social part that is, by definition, unruly. SO safety on it is an ongoing conversation at home and school, in the community, among policymakers, etc., and any tool or talking point promoting that conversation promotes safety. SafetyWeb could just be considered a … [Read more...] about A new kind of online kid monitoring
The school district that logged 13,000 photos of students’ homes
The Webcam security program of a Pennsylvania school district being sued by parents for spying on students with school-supplied laptops captured "nearly 13,000 images" of the insides of students' homes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But a report presented at a school board meeting this week said that "there's no evidence" the district used the laptops to spy on students "despite its … [Read more...] about The school district that logged 13,000 photos of students’ homes