www.isafe.org

I-Safe was founded in 1998 and endorsed by Congress. It seems to be a leader in the world of Internet safety education. It incorporates community outreach with classroom curriculum.

This is a very strong site for both teen users and teachers/librarians/administrators. There is a large portion of the program devoted to virtual training and online learning.

In the X-Block section, teens can create vodcasts (podcasts plus video!), hang out is a safe chat room, become an I-mentor (through training), listen to celebrity messages about Internet safety issues, or sign up for contests or student advisory boards.

I give this site an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars. It truly empowers both teens and educators.

www.safeteens.com and www.safekids.com

This is a family guide to help make technology and the Internet a safer place. This whole site seems like a blog, but it's not. There is actually a blogging section as well as a newsletter. Most of the site is devoted to tips and tools for kids and teens that reads like a news article. One neat aspect is an online safety quiz.

When I saw that there were two separate web addresses, I was expecting differentiated material, but was disappointed. Overall, I would give this site a 2 out of 5 stars. It repeats what is on most other sites with nothing unique to keep users interested.

www.kids.getnetwise.org/

This site was created by companies, public interest organizations, non-profits and trade associations to empower Internet users with the tools they need to keep their Internet experiences both safe and positive.

The four main areas of this site are: Keeping Kids Safe Online, Stopping Unwanted E-mail and Spam, Protecting Your Computer from Hackers and Viruses, and Keeping Your Personal Information Private.

Several areas are more extensive than other sites I've reviewed. For example, under Risks by Technology, many Internet areas are addressed that have not been addressed on other sites (ex. newsgroups). This site has a "Safety by Age" feature. My favorite section is the "Web Sites for Kids" section, which lists hundreds of approved and reviewed sites. This Web Site section is divided into the following categories: American Library Association approved sites, The Children's Partnership Suggested Sites, Wired Patrol Approved Sites, and Enough is Enough Recommended Sites. This is a great tool for teachers to bookmark working sites.

Although this site is lacking interactive qualities for children, the content is extremely thorough. I give this site a 4 out of 5 stars, especially for use by parents and educators.

www.mcgruff.org

This site's Internet safety section is written in more of a news format style than the other sites that are offered. The content is straightforward and helpful to all audiences. Although it is not the best site for teens, younger children will enjoy it. The games for young kids are highly interactive and thought-provoking. Since there is some reading involved, the games are best for second grade and up.

I would give this site a 2 out of 5 stars. It expands to many areas of safety, so the Internet safety section is just not fully evolved at this time.

www.wiredkids.org

The first thing you notice on this site is a "Current Events" bulletin board that is not so current. They are asking people to sign up for a 2005 Summit. Hmmm.....

One of the best things about this site is the Internet Superheroes program. Each superhero is devoted to a different topic. For example, Spiderman represents Online Safety, while The Incredible Hulk represents Cyberbullying. This is very appealing to many kids, especially tweens. By the way, there is a separate section on this site just for tweens, another plus.

There is an extensive list of "safe sites" listed in the Safe sites database for teachers and librarians.

I would give wiredkids.org a 3 out of 5 stars. It is lacking current updating and the layout is rather difficult to navigate. If you dig deep, there are some gems to use, but many people will sign out before they get to the best layers.

www.netsmartz.org

The slogan for this organization is: "educate, engage, empower". I have found after using this site that it does all three! There are sections for parents, educators, law enforcement, teens, kids, and spanish speaking users.

The section for educators offers free video presentation downloads of real life stories and accompanying activity cards. These videos are definitely geared to middle and high school students. There are online and off-line activities broken into grade levels (K-2, 3-4, 5-6, and Middle/High). There is an interactive section called "Ask Dr. Sharon" and public service announcements.

The kids sections offers games, movies, activities and songs. The only section I didn't think was beneficial was the game section - these games were not linked to Internet safety. Once you get into the kids section, you must exit the Internet and re-type in the URL to prevent kids linking to the other offerings on the site.

The teen section used comic book style characters and offered these characters in book/print form and on videos. They very much resembled the Manga/Anime genre, which should appeal to many teens. The one thing I didn't like on the teen site were the downloadable materials for teachers - why here instead of the educators section?

Overall, I give this site a 4.5 out of 5 stars for user-friendliness, layout and content. I would recommend this site to all audiences that are interested in Internet safety for children and teens.