How might the Internet help learning?
In today’s world, the Internet has become an essential part of our daily lives. We could never
imagine a world without the Internet. The Internet has changed the way we live and has a huge
impact on many areas of society, including education. This tool may also be beneficial for the school
environment; it offers the students and teachers various advantages that enable them to make
learning a fast and hassle-free undertaking. Some examples of the most highlighted advantages of
the Internet for students are helpful research, online education games, and communication. Helpful
researching is a huge opportunity for students. Making it easy to search for information about the
assignment or work to prepare themselves, they may research using software (like Google) to gain
more knowledge about a certain material. The so-called modern technology called AI (artificial
intelligence), has also struck through this generation with the majority of students (86%) using AI in
their studies, it is helpful when drawing information about your topic or studying your material. This
causes the internet to become extremely beneficial to students, since it may help students gain
information more easily. Next is online educational games. Unlike traditional education, online
educational games are considerably more fun and easier to practice with. Some of the examples of
online education games are Duolingo, quizzes, Kahoot, etc. As a result, this encourages the students
to practice even more in a more fun way. Lastly, communication was helpful during the Covid
lockdown, where the students had no physical contact with their teachers and must use the internet
through various apps to communicate. Some of the examples include WhatsApp, Google Meet,
Zoom, Skype, and many others. This helps students interact with their teachers without any physical
contact. Overall, as a student, I think that the internet is extremely beneficial as well for these
reasons.
How might the internet restrict learning?
While the Internet offers various advantages, it can also restrict learning in several ways and bring
some concerns. First, the internet provides many amounts of resources; however, the information
online may cause difficulties in telling whether or not it’s true or false, which may lead to confusion
or false facts among students. This is why students should rely on verified resources in order to
receive the most accurate information. Second, the internet provides entertainment that may be a
distraction for students. Some examples are social media, videos, and games, causing students to be
distracted and lose focus on schoolwork. An article has stated that over seven in ten (72%) say that
students are distracted by cell phones during classes, making it a major problem for teachers. Lastly,
the Internet may also prevent students from thinking deeply or solving problems on their own, since
the Internet usually provides answers. One of the tools that prevents students from thinking and is
popular among students is AI (artificial intelligence). This tool may help students give answers with a
click, causing students to not want to research; instead, they use AI in order to get their work done
more easily without a hassle.
Resources:
21K School. (n.d.). How the internet is beneficial to students. 21K School.
https://www.21kschool.com/in/blog/how-the-internet-is-beneficial-to-students/
Pew Research Center. (2024, June 12). 72 percent of U.S. high school teachers say cellphone
distraction is a major problem in the classroom. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/12/72-percent-of-us-high-school-teachers-say-
cellphone-distraction-is-a-major-problem-in-the-classroom/
Statista. (2024, July). Share of students using AI for schoolwork worldwide as of July 2024. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1498309/usage-of-ai-by-students-worldwide/
