Guess what Dorothy, you're still in Kansas

Hop on the World Wide Web, and take a tour of Paris through the WebMuseum. Perhaps visit the Ralph Bunche School in Harlem or the Atlantic View Elementary School in Nova Scotia and learn what the kids there have to say about their neighborhoods. Isn't this what makes the Internet worthwhile?

Well, yes and no.

Granted, while some Web pages are nothing more than info junkyards or the electronic equivalent of graffiti or vanity plates, there's no shortage of sites that are truly interesting for kids and grownups. Some are educational. Some offer good clean fun. And some give your children a glimpse into communities far from home.

But it's a mistake to assume that these cyberspace explorations constitute real experiences of people and place. When you "visit" a museum you haven't really stepped foot in a gallery. When you drop into a school, you haven't really interacted with other kids there. In fact, you haven't left your family room or wherever you keep your computer. You've had a machine-mediated experience, nothing more, nothing less.

And there's the rub. It would be sad if our kids came away from a virtual museum tour (the equivalent of a slim printed brochure) with the feeling that "Oh, we've done that place." Or finished reading the experiences of children in communities very different from their own (again the equivalent of a scant few printed pages) and said, "Oh, we've met those people, we know what their lives are like. Now let's 'meet' some other folks."

So is there any value to such virtual encounters with the real world? Yes, if you consider them to be starting points for learning and human interaction. That's where, YOU, as a parent, come in. You might not be ready to fly to Paris tomorrow, but you can certainly organize a trip to your local library to learn about things you saw on the virtual tour, or you can visit your local museum to find artwork related to the French city. Likewise, you can use cyberspace pen pal encounters to look for ways that your kids can get involved with issues and problem resolution in their own community. That's the real value the Net holds for parents and kids.

No, Dorothy, you don't really leave Kansas when you log onto the Net. But that's OK -- as you long as you know where the yellow brick road starts and ends.

When Enough Is Enough

How much time should a child spend in front of a computer each day? There is no "right" or "wrong" amount. As with TV viewing, the appropriate amount of computer time will vary from family to family. While two hours a day might feel okay in one household, an hour or less might suit another.

In our house, we feel that no more than an hour a day (in two half-hour sessions) is appropriate for kids and we use a marvelous low-tech device -- a kitchen timer -- as a reminder of when it's time to quit. How did we arrive at that number? We simply looked at the time left between the end of the pre-school day and the evening ablutions, thought about the possible things that our kids might be doing, then set some playtime priorities.

This isn't to say that the programs we've purchased for our kids aren't worthwhile; many do have high entertainment and edutainment value. But they aren't so superior to traditional forms of play or learning that they warrant a radical restructuring of our children's free time. And therein lies the danger -- it's just so easy for kids to get hooked on computer programs that they lose interest in hobbies, non-electronic forms of play, and games that require good old-fashioned imagination. Some families report with dismay that computing is the ONLY thing that their kids want to do anymore, forgoing previous interests in music, sports, and extracurricular activities.

So the real issue of screen time is one of balance -- when computing tips the scales, it's time to set some limits and reach for the off switch.

What role should parents play in their children's computing?

A significant one. Parental involvement shouldn't be an afterthought -- it has to be a key assumption underlying the design and development of any educational program. Parental involvement goes far beyond a willingness to invest time at the keyboard with youngsters. Parents must have a vision for how computers will be integrated into their children's lives and to establish goals for their children's "computer literacy."

But just what does computer literacy mean? The ability to format a diskette? Make a folder or directory? Create a word processed document? Set up a database or spreadsheet? "When children get to the point of realizing how the computer can help with homework assignments, hobbies, or projects," someone said, "then they're 'computer literate.' Simple as that."

In other words, kids become computer literate when they instinctively use the computer as a tool just as they would books, paper, crayons, and various traditional media. And while you can raise a very well-educated child without a computer ("the world had done that successfully for years"), we must also see computer literacy as desirable because computers can help both children and adults "operate at a higher level of human potential."

"When children get to the point of realizing how the computer can help with homework assignments, hobbies, or projects, they're 'computer literate.' Simple as that."

To facilitate computer literacy in your household, it is recommended the following types of titles:

1.Software that helps children practice basic skills in math, reading, and other subjects. 2.Programs designed to facilitate writing and publishing, and to stimulate creativity. 3.Software that challenges higher-order thinking skills. 4.Games and simulations that encourage strategy development and an understanding of complex interrelationships within systems. 5.Reference software and tools for exploring the on-line world.

Within this framework, it's important to choose developmentally-appropriate titles. For instance, it is strongly advised against buying "beat the clock" software for six-year-olds; the competitive element distracts from the fun and learning. For eight- or nine-year-olds, however, competition can be motiviational and help hone their thinking powers.

Good edutainment software, especially programs geared toward young children, should also allow the users to make choices and construct their own views of the world. And for all ages, worthwhile software should be intuitive and easy to use without sacrificing richness or depth.

As you acquire software, look for what that "teachable moments" -- those instances when you can ask good questions. The art of great teaching is asking thoughtful and well-timed questions. By asking questions like, 'Wow, that's great, how ever did you figure that out?' you get your kids to think about and verbalize the process they used to solve a problem or devise a strategy. And by helping children to think about the 'hows' and not just the 'whats,' you really help them reflect on the thinking process and cement their learning so they can generalize skills to other situations."

As an advocate of technology, but as a father concerned with raising children who can experience life without a computer, I am always looking for ways to create teachable moments throughout the day.

Role modeling is also an important element of creating teachable moments on and off the computer. "If we need to look something up,sometimes we'll use a book, sometimes a CD ROM, and sometimes we'll go online. And sometimes we'll use all three so that my son and I can compare and discuss the differences in how the information is packaged. It helps my son become aware of how different media treat various subjects and to appreciate the fact that they're all valuable."

Finally, that teachable moments work both ways; as kids spend more time on the computer at home and at school, they gain a tremendous facility with the machine and, in many cases, gain a knowledge base that far exceeds their parents. Let them teach you. It's a wonderful way for your children to feel great about their accomplishments and a motivation for them to learn more. That, I think, is the real promise of all this home technology.