Scratching Technology

Internet Safety

Dear Parents of "Scratching Technology" Students,

During one of the classes this term, I will be showing your students how to sign up for a program-sharing login at the Scratch home page (http://scratch.mit.edu). As it is a site aimed at kids and sponsored by MIT, I feel that this is reasonably risk-free. Unfortunately, a parent once reported that some students had found some offensive artwork on the site. Please be aware that no matter how closely a site is monitored, no one can guarantee that site with thousands of users can remain completely "clean". Even a third-grader is capable of drawing a vulgar picture and posting it! Your children should observe the same precautions they observe anywhere else on the internet, including:

• Never use your full real name or post personal information, including photos of yourself or your classmates, on a public site.
• Never reveal personal information to strangers or anyone else if you're not sure who they are.
• If you see or experience anything wrong, tell a parent right away.

You will notice that every program posted has a place where you can click "Flag as inappropriate". Please use this if anything is not right.

I think the Scratch sharing site is an excellent resource with lots of good ideas. Please use common sense and help keep this a fun and educational community for everyone. I will go over all these cautions with the students in class.

Sincerely,

Mark Spieglan
"Scratching Technology" instructor