About Kiddonet

KiddoNet is a secure, dynamic Internet environment for children. Through KiddoNet, children have the freedom to explore the positive aspects of the Internet without gaining access to inappropriate sites and material. Within this wholesome vibrant atmosphere, children learn to navigate the Internet with a kid-friendly browser. Accessing only "Great Sites" carefully selected by KiddoNet's educational multimedia experts and other "Favorite" sites chosen together with parents, kids embark on their initial Internet expeditions.

KiddoNet's pre-installed interactive play area provides children with hours of offline entertainment. Kids can find humorous pictures to color and animate, watch fast-loading original animations, solve puzzles, sing along to familiar songs, and even record, playback and modify their own voices. By clicking the "New from the Net" icon flashing at the bottom of each of these sections, kids can pull new material right off of KiddoNet's continually updated online area.

From the "New from The Net" icon on KiddoNet’s main screen, kids access our ever-growing selection of exciting online games, laugh at the jokes and riddles supplied by our KiddoNet friends, and get updates on what’s new in KiddoNet in KiddoNews.

Designed with kids in mind, KiddoNet attracts and captivates children of all ages due to the range of unique activities and games. For example, while our older friends are busy with the Detective, where children use the Internet to find clues while learning about archeology, history, geography and more, our young KiddoNet friends catch the dot to learn the alphabet, sing along with their favorite songs, and much much more.

Main Menu of KiddoNet

Be colorfully creative with KiddoNet's FunArt

Enjoy amusing animated CoolToons

With Internet becoming a standard in homes and schools around the world, parents and educators are faced with the challenge of protecting children from material that is inappropriate and harmful. KiddoNet can help, by presenting links to Internet sites that have been carefully chosen to be our Great Sites. These sites have been selected not only because they are kid-safe, but also because they have value and contain quality content.

KiddoNet’s educational experts choose Great Sites based on a number of criteria:

Here are some answers to common questions we are asked, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful.

How can I add Internet sites (My Favorites) to KiddoNet?

There are two ways to add your child's favorite Internet site to KiddoNet:

>From the KiddoNet Menu
Click the Start Button and find look for KiddoNet.
Click "Add Favorite Site".
Type the Internet address of the site that you want to add.
Click the Next button.
Type a name for the new site, as you would like it to appear in the "My Favorite" area.
Click the Finish button.

>From Microsoft's Internet Explorer
Go to your favorite site with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Click the Favorites button on the toolbar.
Click "Add to Favorites".
Click the "Create in>>" button and double-click the "Kids" folder.
Click OK to save this site in "My Favorite".

How can I "turn off" or disable specific Great Sites?

KiddoNet's child development and education experts have carefully screened and selected the Great Sites. However, we realize that every family has its own criteria of what is appropriate for children, and we feel that it's a parent's prerogative to make these decisions. So, if you would like to prevent your children from accessing any of KiddoNet's pre-selected sites, we have provided you with a simple option to "turn-off" sites. This feature is available in Great Sites by clicking the link "Turn Off Great Sites". Great Sites will be updated and sites will change over time, so you may want to check it periodically.

What is Shockwave and how do I get it?

Many of the games and activities in Great Sites require
Shockwave which is a program (plugin) that allows for more
interactivity and animation with the Internet.

We recommend that you download Shockwave before your young children begin to play with these sites because it takes a few minutes to download.

You can download Shockwave through your Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Go to the Macromedia site by typing in the URL Internet address at the top of the screen (http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/), and hit enter. Follow the instructions provided by Macromedia .

How can we allow our children to access one of the links that says "You Can't Go There"?

KiddoNet's safety features prevents children from surfing to outside links, but as a parent or educators it is your prerogative to allow your children access to other sites. If you'd like your child to be able to go on to a specific link from one of the Great Sites, we recommend that you make a note of the address of the Great Site and then go to Internet Explorer and type this address into the browser address line. You can click on the links and find out their addresses. Just add the address to Favorites > and file it in KIDS (this will add it to KiddoNet's My Favorites). The next time your child goes to KiddoNet's Great Sites, s/he will be able to continue on to the site you added through Internet Explorer.

Can I change the look of my KiddoNet browser?

Yes, you can select a different theme or style for your KiddoNet browser from the KiddoNet Menu.
Click the Start Button and find look for KiddoNet.
Click "Browser Themes".
Click the browser descriptions to preview the themes in the box.
Click the theme you'd like to use and then click OK.
The browser that you chose will appear the next time that you enter KiddoNet.

Is KiddoNet compatible with IE5?

Yes, KiddoNet is compatible with IE5, yet in some versions, there is a problem with one component and you'll have to upgrade it.
If you get a "wait while loading..." message in the local activities (i.e. CoolToons, FunArt),
please save the following file to your disk and choose to save it in the KiddoNet installation directory (usually c:\kiddonet). It should take less than a minute.