We've got a little networked classroom setup on my floor, but we don't use it for the kids much. They already know how to get around.

We use it to teach adults how to get around on the Net. Sometimes it's searching specific databases, or cybersafety, but most of the takers are grandparents who want to keep in touch with their grandkids. Classes like "You and Your Computer" ("This is how you turn it on") and "Setting Up an Email Account".

I printed one of these things for one of the classes once, in about 36-pt font to make sure everyone could see it and would read it. They were really shocked. And these are sharp, forward-looking 70-year-olds. We talk about it a lot now.

Really, though, I think that more people are prone to fall for the "This is the FBI" phone call than for this, because a phone call is so immediate and so personal that a person is more apt to cooperate in the heat of the moment. Still, if it's a big line item in the Nigerian economy, somebody must be paying attention. Or not, depending on how you define "attention".

So, boys and girls, some free advice: talk to your mom and dad. In case they have a "friend" who might fall prey.

Regards--
Mary Anne