We want students to have access to online search and reference materials so that they can develop research skills in a connected world. Additionally, we want to prevent students from viewing inappropriate material on the Internet. This newsletter highlights a few search and reference sites that should help.

Yahoo! Kids

Yahoo! Kids (http://kids.yahoo.com) is a directory of websites that have been reviewed and approved by Yahoo's editors. Since Yahoo! Kids only links to approved websites, it is unlikely that younger students will find inappropriate material. In the unlikely event that Yahoo! Kids does link to something you deem inappropriate, you can notify Yahoo! Kids so that they can remove the link.

Google SafeSearch

Google will attempt to filter search results if you enable SafeSearch. This approach is less sure than the one above, but if you monitor your students, it should prevent online search accidents. To enable SafeSearch Filtering do the following for each computer:

• Log on to the Student account.
• Go to Google (http://www.google.com).
• Click on the link next to the search box named “Preferences.”
• Find the section called SafeSearch Filtering.
• Select “Use strict filtering (Filter both explicit text and explicit images)”
• Click on “Save Preferences.”

World Book Online

If you need an encyclopedia for your students, the Louisiana State Department of Education provides World Book Online. To access it, you first need to go to the following website: http://www.doe.state.la.us/worldbook/. Next you need to enter a valid login (louisiana) and password (elementary); however, you will only be able to access World Book Online with this username and password from school.

After logging into World Book Online, you will be in the Reference Center, which includes an atlas, dictionary, and encyclopedia. In the upper right corner of the screen, you will also see links to World Book Kids and the Spanish-Language Encyclopedia. Finally, Change Display lets you set a simpler layout for the Reference Center.