Blog entry September 2010

Ok Folks! Please accept our profuse apologies for being almost 5 months late with this feature. There were good reasons for the delay, but no excuses for setting an expectation that turned out to be way too optimistic in hindsight. We've been waiting to say this for quite some time now - Time Limits is now live!

Time Limits Page Screenshot


Mobicip's WebMonitor Premium users can now setup time limits for Internet access by following the link below
http://www.mobicip.com/portal/settings/time_limits
Please bookmark this link in your browser as there are no navigational links to this page at this time from the WebMonitor portal. Based on the feedback we receive from this beta rollout to the interest list, we will make the feature widely available to all Premium users.

Please try the feature and let us know how you like it. Your feedback is much appreciated and will help us improve the feature for all users.

HealthNewsDigest.com recently published an article, titled: "Tips on Child Mobile Internet Safety" that our proud CEO and founder, Suren Ramasubbu, gladly wrote.  To ensure that your mobile kids are safely surfing the mobile web, read the article to learn the 10 tips to keep your child safe online.  We are happy to feature the first three tips on our blog, however please read the rest of the child mobile internet safety tips on HealthNewsDigest.com.

Child mobile Internet safety tip #1: Safari could be a safari of unfiltered content.
As great as Safari is at displaying sites (as long as they don’t use Flash), it has no web filtering parental controls. None. Zip. Zilch. If your kids want to chat on PredatorsRUs.com, Safari will let them. First and foremost, change the iPod’s Safari browser to one that allows web filtering.

Child mobile Internet safety tip #2: Invest in a leading online content filtering service.
Services like Mobicip (http://www.mobicip.com/) have won Parent's Choice awards and are used by school districts across the country to filter dangerous online content. There are a number of child-safe iPod browsers on the market. Read the reviews and choose the best-rated child-safe iPod browser in your youngster’s age range.

Child mobile Internet safety tip #3: Use the iPod’s basic parental controls.
Once you have installed the child-safe iPod browser, disable Safari. But be warned, kids are clever. If kids don’t like using a child-safe iPod browser, they will simply download another browser. Here’s how you stop them.

Please read the rest of the article on HealthNewsDigest.com.

Dynamic internet filtering service enables Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services to roll out iPod Touch devices to students in the component districts and schools, putting parents and educators at ease.

Thousand Oaks, CA - Mobicip.com, the leading internet safety and parental control service for mobile devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, partnered with the Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a regional public education service organization in Buffalo, NY, to safely equip iPod Touch devices with content filtering for home use in public and private schools in the region.

BOCES is an acronym for Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a regional public education service organization. Established in 1948 by the state legislature, a BOCES provides quality, cost-effective educational services to school districts in New York State. Erie 1 BOCES serves 20 component school districts surrounding the city of Buffalo.

The Erie 1 BOCES has launched a 1:1 program pilot where administrators in 16 public school districts and 15 private schools are given a school-provisioned iPod Touch. The unique program not only allows the school administrators to use the iPod Touch in school, but also allows the device to be taken off campus to continue to be able to access and perform a variety of administrative tasks. Through the iPod Touch pilot, school and district administrators were able to explore and experience the Internet, App Store, music, videos and podcasts, with safe school-generated and approved content to gain first-hand insight about the appropriateness and practicality of integrating mobile devices in the classroom.

Mobicip’s internet safety and parental control service allows educators to embrace new technology while ensuring a safe learning and secure learning environment. “We are thrilled with the Mobicip application,” says Jenny Conklin, Erie 1 BOCES Professional Developer, who is in charge of the program pilot. “The superintendents in the school districts have been very impressed with the simple, easy to use web interface that allows them to monitor the Internet activity by users and customize the filtering settings. The Mobicip team has been very helpful and supportive as we went through a trial period and decided to use Mobicip for this pilot program.”

After a careful review of available online security options, Erie 1 BOCES selected Mobicip's Safe Browser app and web-based monitoring service for this pilot due to the high quality of the app and Internet filter. Mobicip’s service ensures CIPA-compliance, supports school acceptable use policy, and is an eRate eligible vendor.

"Mobicip.com was launched with a vision to serve the needs of mobile learning in K-12 education. We have been amazed by the rapid adoption of the iPod Touch in schools, and more so by the innovative uses that educators have come up with for the device and applications like Mobicip," says Suren Ramasubbu, Founder and CEO of Mobicip.com. "Mobicip's service is being used by thousands of parents around the world, and the fact that it has been selected for use in this pilot at Erie 1 BOCES is a testament to its capabilities."

The Safe Browser app is available on the iPhone App Store, and the service is available at www.Mobicip.com. The full press release is available at www.Mobicip.com/press.

About Mobicip Web Filtering and Dynamic Parental Control Software
Mobicip is a powerful internet filtering and parental control software designed specifically to work with mobile devices.  Parents and Educators use Mobicip’s custom web filtering so kids and teens can use the Internet safely, securely and specific to their age, interests and parent/educator requirements.  The Safe Browser iPhone app is the most popular parental control app on the iPhone App store.  Learn more about Mobicip at www.Mobicip.com.
 

Education Apps Review (IEAR), a Community Effort to Grade "Educational Apps", recently published their Podcast show hosted by Scott Meech with co-hosts, Susan Wells and Judi Epcke.  Please enjoy their podcast show on the importance of 1 to 1 learning programs

Susan Wells, Culbreth Middle School Principal, shares how her school has successfully put an iPod Touch in every child's hand at their school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.   Susan also brings up the Mobicip application and how our application has helped her reach her goal.

Mobicip's dynamic content filtering technology helps educators and parents protect their children from a new wave of Internet hazards stemming from mobility so they can learn and love the mobile web. Mobile Internet devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad are highly capable computers that contain browsers that can find anything on the Internet—irrespective of whether or not the content is appropriate for the child browsing or learning. 

The StarTribune.com recently published an interesting article, appropriately titled "Parents: Are you a high-tech snoop?".  The author, Suzanne Ziegler, states: " Parents who are finding themselves outgunned by tech-savvy tweens and teens are looking for ways stay on top of what their kids are doing online. It's daunting for parents, who grew up when snooping was a matter of picking up the other phone line to listen in or finding where a diary had been hidden. Now, a growing number of devices -- including phones and laptops -- let their children access the Internet anywhere, anytime. So, tech companies are responding by developing a growing arsenal of spy gear -- aimed at parents -- that's cheaper and easier to use.

We agree with Suzanne and we appreciate her featuring Mobicip as Spy Gear for Parents. Educators and Parents choose Mobicip's app to ensure their mobile kids use their mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, etc) safely and securely.