by Leigh Sanders

Created on: October 16, 2007

Many of today's students swear by the benefits of being able to use the Internet in school, stating how much easier it is to find out the information they need for research, etc. Yet there are so many problems and challenges that the use of the Internet brings to the table as well, and it is up to our instructors and parents to make sure that our children know this.

The list that follows mark some of the bigger problems presented by the Internet in regards to teaching:

1) INACCURATE INFORMATION.

It is 100% free to publish anything you wish on the Internet. You can set up a website that declares all the reasons why the sky is red, not blue. You can write a completely convincing article about how Abraham Lincoln was racist. You can write anything that you want to, knowing full well it is a lie, and not be punished for it, or penalized in any way. As such, the Internet is chock full of information that will do nothing but make you look silly for believing it.

Students often use the Internet to gather research for papers and assignments in school. Without excessive training in how to spot false information, the students will often make the mistake of putting false information into their reports, and will consequently get marked down for poor information.

2) ABILITY TO PLAIGARIZE.

Since there are so many other people in the world who have had to write an article on the same thing that you were just assigned, there's really no reason for you to write the same article, now is there? Hundreds upon hundreds of students simply log onto a website that sells essays rather than write their own papers. Of course, now there are programs available to instructors that will check for plaigarism, but not all instructors have access to those programs. The quality of a student's education drops dramatically when they are not doing any learning, because all of their assignments are bought or downloaded from the Internet.

3) CONSTANT DISTRACTION.

Even students who are willing to do their own work find it difficult to find the time to write a three-page essay on the Spanish Inquisition when they are checking their Myspace or Facebook or playing Ogame. Schools are able to put blockers on certain pages to lower the impact of such distractions, but many students know how to get around those blocks. Also, you don't have to be playing a game or checking a personal webpage in order to not be doing your work. You could be shopping online, or looking at articles on the latest bits of fashion or technology.

Since

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