Telling you all about Mobicip, the web browser app, has been on my "ideas" list for about a month now. Current events have put it on my heart to tell all of my teacher and parent friends about how to protect our children.
We are living in a MUCH faster world than we grew up in...and I'm only 35! Children have unlimited access to any information available in the world via the internet and they don't possess the maturity to know what is appropriate and what isn't. This is where we need to teach our children digital citizenship or a way to prepare students for a society full of technology. In the meantime, blocking access to certain sites is a step that we must take to protect our younger students.
If your child uses the Internet for research, I recommend purchasing the Mobicip app. The app is technically free, but you pay $10 per device per year for the service. You set basic school-age levels, on/off times, white list, black-list and key words. You can view reports, download them or have them sent to you. You'll see that some very questionable sites were blocked, sites your kids might have accidentally stumbled upon, or sites you really don't want them to seek out. Check on your kids browsing history from anywhere, anytime. I don't use it to spy on them - they know they have a special browser. I use it to keep them honest - if I have reason to doubt their claims, I can go to the reports.
If you own an iOS (Apple) device, I would recommend making a few adjustments in the settings:
- Turn on Restrictions and set a password that only you know
- Disable Safari and YouTube
- Turn off App Store (Your children know how to download free web browser apps that can take them anywhere and doesn't show in the browser history)
- Turn off In-App Purchases
These days, in order to protect our children, we have to know at least as much as they do about their devices that connect to the internet. I have been knocking around the idea of offering some parent/student training sessions or even a technology camp for students. If you are interested in one of these sessions as a parent, please contact me.
