Children

Internet services help improve
lives of children around state

April 20, 2004

DES MOINES, Iowa--Children growing up today are not strangers to technology, as many of them are well-skilled at the Internet at a young age. However, little attention is given as to how the Internet is actually used to help children.

With the Internet becoming a major source of where children get their information, many Web sites around the state are creating pages that will appeal to them.

In many cases these sites for children are done completely separate from the main site that would target an organization's primary audience.

John O'Connell, technology consultant for Iowa's Department of Education, noted several Web sites among the different agencies in Iowa targeted toward a younger audience.

Sites for many state departments host a children's page. Some are developed primarily to give them an understanding of the department. Others have actual online activities to entertain children, usually in an informative setting.

Iowa's homepage (www.iowa.gov) even has an entire "Kids Page" section that is targeted at younger Web browsers. Within the page are several different categories, including one that has links to eight different government agency sites specifically directed to children.

All of these sites for children are written in languages easier for them to comprehend. Many also utilize online activities that are only offered on the "Kids Page" and relate to the content of the site.

Jody Crane, administrative assistant for the elementary and secondary department of the Department of Education, said that overall these sites are meant to give children more understanding of how things work. She said the different activities are a way to facilitate learning.

However, she noted that each department, including education, usually has its own focus of what it is trying to get across to a younger audience.

"The Web site does help the number of volunteers we get," said Jerry Foxhoven, the Iowa Child Advocacy Board's administrator. "Also our Web site makes recommendations for changes in Iowa."

These proposed changes are recommended online so that each department that needs to access them can. The board also publishes an annual report online that lets people know what progress is being made in finding children homes around the state.

"The annual report is another big thing the Web site is used for," Foxhoven said. "It lets people know where we are and also who they can contact if they want to help out as a volunteer."

O'Connell said this is a main focus of his job for several different departments, including several that involve children. Each department uses its Internet site to show reports to each other in order to work as efficient as possible in bettering life for children.

The Child Advocacy board helps place neglected children in foster homes around the state. With the use of the Internet, the placement and volunteer rates are better for children. This is because the board is better able to match children with parents with the help of the Internet, according to Foxhoven.

With informing children as a key for state deparments, the use of the Internet can also be instumental in education, Crane noted. But the Internet has not reached its full potential within schools yet because of the amount of funding needed to get it into the classrooms, Crane said.

The highly developed knowledge children have about the Internet has been something many organizations around the state are putting to good use. But it may be the adults who are using the Internet best by helping children out without them even knowing it.