Want an easy way to help control what your children see while surfing the web? There are a few options out there, but none of them are easier to install and use than Glubble. Glubble is a Firefox extension that creates a safe and controllable user interface for every child in your house. Plus – it’s free.
Glubble offers parents an easy way to help control what content their children see while surfing the web. I was contacted by Brian Harrison who introduced me to Glubble. Five minutes later I installed Glubble and was very impressed with the ease of installation and how it integrated with Firefox.
Continue reading to learn more about Glubble. I’ve also included screen shots of my installation process so you can see how the install process will look. I’ve even included a couple screen shots of how to add a page to your own custom Glubble.
What is a Glubble:
From the Glubble feature page: Glubbles are hand-picked compilations of web content… The Glubble library is your resource to browse through and select great content for your child to discover online. We have collected hundreds of links for you to choose from based on what we thought is normal, decent, fun and educational content for children. On top of this you can add your own content into new Glubbles and share them with your family friends.
You can learn more about Glubble by visiting their FAQ page here. I’ve republished some of the information from their FAQ page here with permission.
What are Glubble’s unique features?
Glubble offers many ways to discover and learn! Through Glubble children can play thousands of games, discover Web sites on topics that interest them, learn foreign languages, listen to audio books, view cartoons, dress-up dolls and print their own coloring pages. The family comes together around their homepage where they can chat and post messages for one another. And only with Glubble, parents are given full support by pre-approving each and every Web site before their children can visit them.
How involved should parents be in setting up safe spaces and supervising children online?
Using the Internet is just like any other activity and parents should have complete control over the content that their children are exposed to. Just as responsible parents select books to read to their children—and determine which TV shows their children can watch – with Glubble, parents pre-approve all Web sites their children can access. The result is a truly fun and safe “play space” for children… and a high level of comfort for parents.
Installation Part 1: Get Firefox
Get it here
First off you’ll need to download and install the Firefox web browser. If you’re new to or unsure about Firefox, it’s an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here because you could write a book about the differences between Firefox and Explorer. The main reason you’ll need Firefox to use Glubble is because Firefox has supported plug-ins longer than IE. There are many more plug-ins available for Firefox than IE and Glubble is one of them.
Installation Part 2: Get the Glubble Add-on
Get Glubble here
One you’ve installed Firefox, click on the link to the right and download the Glubble add-on for Firefox. It’s a pretty simple process and doesn’t take long to download. You’ll be prompted to restart Firefox after the installation of Glubble is complete.
Once you’ve successfully installed Glubble, you can go to Tools –> Add-ons in the Firefox toolbar to access any add-on you install in the future. After you’ve installed Glubble and Firefox restarts, you don’t have to take any additional action.
Glubble Set-up Part 1: Account Set-up
This screen shows you the user interface when you set up your Glubble account
Glubble Set-up Part 2: Add Your Family Members
You can add your children and spouse using this screen. Add more people by clicking on the “+” sign.
Glubble Account Creation and User Tabs :
After Glubble is installed you’ll see the user tabs at the top of the screen
Glubble Home Screen and Interface :
This is what your children see when surfing the web with Glubble. They can search safely and even post messages for the whole family.
Child Interface and Navigation :
Glubble is easy to navigate. Your children can find relevant web pages easily. There’s great content for boys and for girls.
Glubble Administration Panel :
Here you can edit and update all of your Glubble settings
Add a New Site: Step 1
To add a new site, click on the green box in the upper right hand corner. You can add any page you want to your own Glubble.
Add a New Site: Step 2
Choose to add the current page or the entire site. Parents have full control over what their children see.
