Using Computer for Research – what age?

I have a soon to be 8yo and whenever we come across something interesting he says “let’s look it up on the internet mom!” We do it together though. I wouldn’t turn him loose by himself obviously. We use wikipedia a lot, especially for bios. We also look up pictures of animals and bugs, YouTube videos of songs, etc. When we were reading Trumpet of the Swan we enjoyed the YouTube videos from various zoos of trumpeter swans. We also use it to look up maps of things, such as when my son randomly wanted to know what regions the Huns controlled way back when. We could compile a list and find books at the library…or we can Google it and that provides immediate gratification lol.

As we do this I have taught him how to keyword search and scan results for interesting hits. This morning he requested a bird checklist so we searched for one and he suggested a better keyword than I was using. They catch on quick. We even use my iPhone to look things up when away from home, at the park, etc. Like I said, we just always do it together and he is never allowed on alone.

Tara