Research

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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  • October 15, 2008 at 5:04 pm
    csmamma
    Participant

    My 13 yo ds has been researching topics of interest lately. So far he checks the library first then does related searches on the internet. Yet he still ends up lacking at times in his search.

    My question is.. do you have any suggestions or books he could read that would teach him the researching process..what do first, look for, etc.

    I’m also worried about him doing searches on the internet alone….so I have to sit with him and sometimes would like to leave him to himself to do this independantly. Any ideas?

    Thanks again! Hope you’re all having a great school year!

    Blessings,

    Heather

    October 16, 2008 at 12:58 pm
    Doug Smith
    Keymaster

    Regarding the Internet, I highly recommend using some sort of filtering software or service. For example, we turn on the parental controls that is built into our Macintosh computers.

    I also recommend a wonderful free service called openDNS. You can use that to do customized filtering of your Internet connection for a single computer or even the entire house if you have more than computer. I have ours filtering near where the connection comes into the house so all of our computers are automatically protected. Unfortunately, the setup can be a little technical so you may need get some help making it work.

    October 16, 2008 at 3:39 pm
    csmamma
    Participant

    Thanks, Doug, I’ll ask my husband to check into the openDNS. The only reason we have not gotten any type of filtering software is because of the cost. I recently received this article (pasted below) from a business that we know. While on this subject, I wondered if you could tell me if you’ve heard of it and what you think.

    “I recently received a call from a customer who had problems with some of her employees using company PC’s to cruise the internet when they should have been working. The customer had a small business, thus did not have the security benefits of a full network domain. She needed this problem resolved without spending a ton of money. She was really frustrated and wanted to be absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt 100% sure those guys could not access the internet. Without internet access, they still needed to use the programs necessary to accomplish their jobs. Was this possible? The solution I came up with caused me to think about how many of you might benefit from this as well.

    There are lots of benefits to having a home PC that the entire family can share, but the real challenge is internet security. Some families like the idea of children learning via PC-based software, but really struggle with being sure that their children cannot access the internet or email. Bottom line: without spending money on 3rd party controls; how do you keep the children from having access to the internet yet allow dad and mom full access as needed? Is that possible?

    Lo and behold, Microsoft has a free utility called “Steady State” which allows administrators to lock down user accounts on stand-alone or network PC’s. I simply logged in with an account that has administrator rights, installed the software, and selected the user account which internet access needed to be disabled. It was that easy!

    In addition to removing internet access, there are also a host of other options which work well to keep the budding “PC guru” in your family (or business) from making system changes that can drive you crazy. Perhaps your children (or employees) need internet access to only one or two sites while excluding all others? This utility allows you to enter those sites.

    This utility was a “bulls eye” for my customer, and may also be a great solution for you too (no, I’m not being paid to say this)! I like this utility because families can take the maximum advantage of technology while maintaining control for the sake of the family. Sounds like a win-win to me! Read more about (or download) this great utility by going to:

    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

    Thanks again, Doug.

    Heather

    ps Moderators, I hope its okay to post that article.

    October 17, 2008 at 1:57 pm
    Esby
    Member

    You might try asking your local children’s librarian to teach your child about research projects, either one-on-one with him or with a group of homeschoolers in your area. I have found librarians generally eager and helpful with situations like this.

    October 17, 2008 at 3:34 pm
    Doug Smith
    Keymaster

    Heather, I haven’t tried Steady State myself but I’ve looked over the documentation and heard others tell about it. From what I understand, you can limit what programs each child can use and limit their Web use to a specific list of sites they are allowed to visit. That would probably work well for younger children. But it doesn’t look like it does any content filtering so it may not help with older children who need more freedom for research purposes, while still being protected.

    p.s. It’s extremely rare that anything on this forum needs moderation. I can probably count the number of times we’ve done so on one hand. If we have to moderate, we try to do it gently with a good explanation–and we usually feel bad about it. 🙂

    October 22, 2008 at 2:37 pm
    csmamma
    Participant

    Thanks, Doug. Yep, I didn’t think about steady state defeating the purpose of my son doing research. Anyway, I’m still waiting on my dh to check out openDNS- since I’m not very technical.

    Thanks once again!

    Heather

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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