Cyber Safety: Searching for Child Safe Websites

The web is a wild and crazy place.  How can you know that a site is good for students?  One way is to look for the iWatchdog child safe logo.  If you see this on a site, then it is registered and reviewed as child safe. According the site, "The iWatchDog™ Licensing Program is designed to provide a globally recognised and consistent standard to define websites of non-offensive content. The iWatchDog™ Licensing requires a website to have the content rated by a content rating system that is ICCS™ certified under the iWatchDog™ Program, and then must hold an authorized iWatchDog™ seal."

There is also a safe search engine at:  http://www.allsafesites.com/.  This looks like a google search window.  Enter a search term and the results will rate the safety and relevance of the site. It also has a directory of sites.  Choose the category under the search box and see sites that are considered educational and safe for students to use.  "AllSafeSites is a kid-friendly directory & search engine for fun, educational and most importantly, SAFE websites. Each site in our directory has been personally reviewed and recommended by an elementary school teacher."  There are no ads on this search engine, because ads are deceptive and students click on them trying to get to good information.  Check this one out!