Inside NetSmartz Workshop
Educate. Engage. Empower: Clicky's Greatest Hits
You've seen the full-length music videos on www.NetSmartzKids.org, but now everyone's favorite yellow robot, Clicky, has his own album! Clicky's greatest hits, "Be Safer Online," "Swirl 'n Twirl (in a Virtual World)," "Know the Rules!," and "Way 2 Go!" are available for download on iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon. Download the tracks that you and your children love, and sing along to tunes which make real-world and online safety rules easy for kids to remember. Clicky's songs cover important safety issues such as: revealing too much personal information, netiquette, and checking first with a trusted adult. Listen to them at home and in the car for age-appropriate lyrics and lessons which will help keep your kids safer and entertained!
The Be Safer Online EP is recommended for children ages 5-10.
Bulletin Board: Activity Book
Get your scribbles on with NetSmartz Scribblez! NetSmartz Workshop is committed to helping children stay safer on- and offline-and have fun while they are doing it! That is the philosophy behind NetSmartz Scribblez, a free, downloadable activity book for children ages 5-10. Scribblez features rapping robot Clicky and his pals, Nettie and Webster, as they lead children through engaging activities.
While coloring, finding their way through mazes, and playing connect-the-dots, children are also learning the NetSmartz Rules of Internet and Real-World Safety. Activities such as "NetSmartz Ad Libs" and "Webville Secret Map" give children a chance to practice their math and language arts skills while putting away the Webville Outlaws—Internet villains who represent the risks children may face online.
Scribblez is available in PDF format so you can easily print the whole book or just one page. Hang children's completed Scribblez activity pages in the classroom or on the refrigerator to remind them of appropriate on- and offline behavior.
Click here to download NetSmartz Scribblez now!
Social Spotlight: The Music Man
Who is Matt Huesmann? An award-winning music writer who's been "instrumental" in the development of NetSmartz songs!
Huesmann's worked with some of the newest and greatest singers of our time, including one name you might recognize - Clicky! Matt Huesmann is also known for his exceptional skills as a producer, label owner, and photographer. He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Q: What do you consider to be the most important issue for parents trying to teach their children Internet Safety?
A: Number One- Don't give out your email address...and don't talk to people/kids who you assume are kids on gaming sites (foopets, etc).
Q: What was the biggest technological advancement of your generation?
A: Development of home gaming systems
Q: Who is your favorite NetSmartz character?
A: Router, of course!
Q: What is the best advice you have for parents who want to keep their kids safer online?
A: Put the kids' computer in the most trafficked area of your house so that parents and older siblings can keep an eye on the younger ones!
Q: How did you get involved with NetSmartz Workshop?
A: Producing Music for them! ;>)
Q: Name one technology or gadget you can't live without.
A: iPhone
Q: What do you think is the biggest safety risk to youths online?
A: The biggest safety risk is really the unmonitored texting, but next to that possibly Facebook.
Q: What advice do you have for young people online?
A: Avoid sites that offer free items that your parents have not approved.
Q: What is your favorite online activity?
A: Reading articles and traveling the world via videos and photos!
Q: What do you think the Internet will look like in five years?
A: Same as it does now with more sales transaction-related processes occurring. I do see integration and merging of TV and internet.
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Any views or opinions presented in Social Spotlight are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent those of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.