Internet for the Family
Presented to The Prairieland Advocates for Gifted
Children, February 5, 1999
By Valerie Bock
What is the Internet?
 global network of connected computers
communicating with each other via Transfer
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
 full employment program for computer
geeks
Yeah, but what is it really!
 communications medium
– e-mail
– chat
– newsgroups
– internet phone
– video conferencing
Yeah, but what is it really?
 archive for computer programs
– patches for commercial programs
– demos
– shareware
– freeware
 archive for written documents
 medium for cheap publication
Well, yeah, but what is it that
would matter to me?
 A way to keep in touch
 A playground
with far-flung friends
and family
 A place to find out
more about things I’m
interested in.
 A huge catalog
 A study aid
 A place to publish my
work
 A place to meet people
who are interested in
the same things I am
 A means to keep
current in my field
 A way to do business
from home
Isn’t there some bad stuff on the
Internet?
Some folks think the Internet is
for:
 Being mean to people
 Luring innocent
under cover of
anonymity
 Offering sleazy
products, even to
people who have no
interest
 Spreading hate and/or
lies
youngsters into
dangerous situations
 Stealing
– intellectual property
– money
 Pretending to be
someone else
So how do you avoid the bad
stuff?
 Guard your privacy. Children should never
reveal:
– last name
– address
– phone number
 Adults should take care when revealing this
information, and be careful about credit
card numbers and work addresses
So how do you avoid the bad
stuff?
 Don’t believe everything you read
 Go with your gut instinct
 Parents should know where their kids go
 Don’t reveal private information
What’s the big deal about
revealing my full name?
 If people have your name and your town,
they can get your phone number and
address (Yahoo) and they can find out
where your house is (Mapquest)
 It’s one thing to give this information to
local folks and far away folks you know,
and another to broadcast it to the world!
What about my e-mail address?
 E-mail addresses are big business
 Spam is everywhere
 E-mail addresses published on the web
attract junk mail like flies
 E-mail software with filtering capability is a
Good Thing (TM)
– Eudora
– Pegasus
– Netscape
Ok, Ok, I’ll be careful! Now can
we go on-line?
 Search Engines
– Ask Jeeves
– Dogpile
 Cultural Stuff
– Arts & Letters Daily
– Museums
– PBS
– NPR
Local Stuff on-line
 Herald & Review
 Millikin
 Richland
 DecaturNet
 City of Decatur
Kidstuff
 Internet Chess Server
 Hoagie’s Kids Pages
 Yahooligans
 Study Web
 Virtual Science Teacher
 Hotwheels site
 MaMa Media
 GT World Moo
So, What is the Internet to You?
What isn’t the Internet?
 A replacement for the
 A place where you can
guidance of parents
 A replacement for
teachers
 A source of hugs
 A replacement for
neighbors
 A replacement for
friends
“really get to know”
people
 A replacement for
“real life”
Have fun, Learn stuff!
 E-mail me! vbock@netins.net
 Check out the links from this presentation:
http://www.netins.net/showcase/vcb/pagc/