Child Development

Bibliography
Kamphaus, Randy. Clinical Assessment of Children’s Intelligence. Bos-
ton: Allyn and Bacon, 1993.
Mackintosh, N. J. IQ and Human Intelligence. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1998.
Nuthall, Ena, Ivonne Romero, and Joanne Kalesnik. Assessing and
Screening Preschoolers: Psychological and Educational Dimensions,
2nd edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
Laura A. Webber

INTERNET

The Internet—also called the World Wide Web, or
web—is a vast system of connections among individu-
al computers and computer networks, allowing infor-
mation and programmed activities to be easily shared
by individuals around the world. According to the Na-
tional Center for Education Statistics (NCES), over 90
percent of primary school students in the United
States report using the Internet at home, at school, or
in both settings. Educational uses emphasize search-
ing for information about classroom projects or top-
ics. As with printed media, it is necessary to assist
children in determining the source and reliability of
web-based information.

For entertainment, ‘‘kids only’’ sites provide links
to topics of interest to children, often emphasizing
popular culture heroes. For example, the cable televi-

sion channel ‘‘Cartoon Network’’ maintains a web site

that allows children to ‘‘interact’’ with favorite animat-

ed figures and play games based on these characters.

Chat and e-mail features of these sites encourage

communication among geographically distant peers.

Because of the risk that children will be exposed

to developmentally inappropriate content, most par-

ents and schools discourage children from unsuper-

vised Internet exploration. Anxiety about adult

themes and predatory contact led to the Children’s

Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998,

which requires web sites to seek parental permission

before collecting personal or identifiable information

from children, and the Recreational Software Adviso-

ry Council on the Internet (RSACi), which supervises

a voluntary four-category rating system for Internet

sites.

See also: COMPUTER LITERACY; HOME SCHOOLING

Bibliography

Kids Interacting with Developmental Software (KIDS) [web site].

Available from http://www.childrenandcomputers.com/

Default.asp; INTERNET.

National Associate for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Technology Caucus [web site]. Available from http://

http://www.techandyoungchildren.org/index.shtml; INTERNET

Northwest Educational Technology Consortium [web site]. Avail-

able from http://www.netc.org/index.html; INTERNET.

Sharon Seidman Milburn

INTERNET 219