Typically, when you hear about kids and the Internet, the conversation turns to the dangers of online predators, risk of Internet addiction, and other such threats. There is an upside to the technology that the Internet affords young users, however. Not convinced? Consider these three positive effects that the Web has on kids’ learning.
### Online Research
Decades ago, conducting research for a school project or paper meant making a trek to the public library and spending hours pouring over textbooks. Today, however, the Internet has opened up the portal to information like never before, and students are among the biggest beneficiaries of this open access. Since many public libraries offer free access to academic databases, kids need not leave their homes to conduct scholarly research or simply learn something new.
### Engaging Learning Activities
Although many have gained a bad rep, not all online computer games are bad for kids. In fact, some of them can be quite educational, so much so that many teachers routinely prescribe online play for kids who need remediation in skills such as multiplication, spelling, and more. Free sites like www.brainpop.com and www.funbrain.com offer learning games so that kids can practice new skills and have fun at the same time, whether at school or at home!
### Tools for Organization and Study Skills
In addition to online learning games, there is also a host of websites and applications that provide tools for developing effective organizational and study skills. Evernote, for example, allows students to highlight text on a website and save their annotations to cloud-based notebooks for later reference. Websites like www.quizlet.com let users create virtual flash cards for easy studying on the go.
Although some parents are fearful of the Internet because of the many threats lurking behind their computer monitors, not everything online is a negative influence. Instead, the Internet is a tool, and like any other tool, can be used to achieve good or do harm.
Luckily, safeguards like Qustodio can help you ensure that your child benefits from the very best the Web has to offer while shielding him from the very worst. With Qustodio, you can block entire categories of web sites such as those that offer violent or drug-related content while monitoring the time your child spends on other sites. That way, children can experience the many learning opportunities available online and you can have the peace of mind of knowing that he’s safe from web-based dangers.
