In small groups with the teacher's assistance children can e-mail another class or friend of the classroom. They learn the components of a letter, communication courtesy, and problem solving skills by interacting with one another. Encourage children to e-mail preapproved classroom friends, family members, and classmates. A simple way to manage the e- mail addresses would be to add these names to the browser's address book. Participating in e-mail results in the younger child beginning to understand that print has meaning.
Older children learn more complex skills by actually composing letters.
The Internet can be a fun and educational place to visit. With a few precautions and simple planning, it can add whole new dimension for learning. This application still provides desktop security and easy software accessibility for children, but it also enables you to add child safe Internet sites directly to the student's desktop. This gives younger children the opportunity to explore the Internet without concerns of what they might access. There are some differences between KidDesk Family Edition and KidDesk Internet Safe, so it is important to decide if the Internet feature is important for you and your classroom.