by Rob Dacosta

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

The Internet is the greatest contribution to learning since the mass production of books. While it has been mostly positive, there is also a small negative side.

Positive:

Students are free to 'tune in' to the material which covers a subject in a way that reaches them best. Since there are no barriers to sources of knowledge - beyond language translation - the ability to gather information is determined only by the time a student spends researching anything. In short, the Internet has become the worlds largest dictionary and anyone can access it. Additionally students are now free to interact with the schools they attend, the teachers who instruct them and the other students they attend classes with.

Negative:

As with the introduction of calculators in Math classes the Internet has reduced the burden of work on students and created the opportunity of scanning subjects without the need to really understand them. This effect is magnified most in literature classes where plagiarism is too tempting for some. There has also been a marked erosion of writing skills.

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