Review the Step 1 activity checkpoints before doing these activities.
(There are no Step 2 activity checkpoints for this activity.)

A group may wish to earn a technology award, e-mail other groups, find information on the Internet, or create its own Web site. GSUSA maintains a Web site, Just for Girls, that provides information about Girl Scouting and invites girls to send their ideas for inclusion on the site. Its address is:  www.girlscouts.org/girls.

Planning and Supervision

£     A consultant with knowledge of computers may be very helpful if group leaders need assistance with these activities.

£     Find a location that provides group members opportunities to use the computers. See “Site” below.

£     If girls use the Internet, copy and distribute the “My Online Safety Pledge” on page 130. Discuss online safety issues with the girls, so they know how to conduct themselves safely on the Internet. Monitor the Web sites that girls view. Choose chat rooms carefully, ensuring that they are actively monitored and safe. Discuss the kinds of information girls should not disclose to strangers (full name, address, phone number, e mail address, photo).

Planning a Web Site

£     A group that wants to design a Web site must understand that a Web site can be accessed by any one with a computer connected to the Internet. The Web is an open medium whose sites attract more than just the intended users— including individuals (“cyberstalkers”) who prey on children. Such persons search the Web for seemingly innocent details that identify children and the places they go. To protect girls, eliminate personal identifiers from Girl Scout Web sites. Specific information that could jeopardize the safety and security of girls and adults must not be disclosed on a Web site.

£     To ensure the girls’ safety:

§         Use only girls’ first names.

§         Never post girls’ addresses, phone numbers, or e-mail addresses.

§         Never use pictures of individual girls who are identified in any way without parental permission. (A sample permission form is available at: www.girlscouts.org/girls.)

§         Do not list addresses of group meeting places or dates and times of meetings, events, or trips.

§         Do not allow automatic posting of messages to a Web site by using message boards or guest books that are not continually monitored.

§         Ensure that the messaging sys tem does not allow girls and adults to post their e-mail addresses.

Web Site Hyperlinks

£     Select hyperlinks to other Web sites carefully. The content of potential links should be in keeping with Girl Scout principles and activities. Do not create hyperlinks to Web sites containing paid advertising or selling merchandise to avoid implied Girl Scouting endorsement of the products they offer.

£     Seek out sites that:

§         Enhance girls’ participation in Girl Scouting.

§         Are tasteful.

§         Show diversity.

§         Are beneficial to girls, volunteers, and families.

§         Are in keeping with the Girl Scout organization’s purpose.

£     Fully explore each Web site link to determine that its content is appropriate to a Girl Scout audience. E-mail the site’s Webmaster, requesting permission for the hyperlink. Use similar criteria to determine what sites link to a group Web site.

Group Communication

£     A group leader who wishes to communicate upcoming events with families of girls should use e mail instead of posting details on a Web site.

Product Sales

£     Girls and adults may not post notices on the Internet to sell Girl Scout Cookies or other products from council-sponsored product sales.

Use of Copyrighted Material

£     A group Web site may not use copyrighted designs, text, graphics, or trademarked symbols with out specific permission from the copyright or trademark holder. The basic principle is: If it is not yours, don’t use it. Trademarks owned by Girl Scouts of the USA include:

§         The trefoil shape

§         Daisy Girl Scout Pin

§         Brownie Girl Scout Pin

§         Girl Scout pins, both contemporary and traditional

§         The words Daisy Girl Scout, Brownie Girl Scout, Junior Girl Scout, Cadette Girl Scout, Senior Girl Scout, Girl Scouting, Girl Scouts, and Girl Scout Cookies

§         Brownie Girl Scout Try-Its, badges, and interest project awards, their names and symbols

£     A legal agreement for a “nonexclusive license” to download specific Girl Scout trademarks is available on GSUSA’s Web site. It can be found at www.girlscouts.org.

£     Girl Scout trademarks may be used only in accordance with guidelines for their use. The Girl Scout trefoil, for example, may not be animated or used as wallpaper for a Web site.

£     Some names (such as commercial products and cartoon characters) are also trademarked and cannot be incorporated into Web site addresses.

Videos and Music

£     Permission is also required from the author or publisher for Web use of videos and music. This includes posting words to copy righted songs.

Site

£     Look for computers available for group use at a library, Girl Scout council program center, school or college computer lab, computer retail store with a training facility, or science museum. Make sure that there are enough computers for each girl to get hands-on experience. (Two girls can share one computer.)

These pages are for check-list purposes only. Please refer to your Safety-Wise book to make sure the checklist information is current and accurate.
These pages are not endorsed by Girl Scouts of the USA.  'Girl Scouts' and 'Girl Scouts of the USA' are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Girl Scouts of the USA.

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