Leah Dantinne

Silicon Snake Elective

July 12, 2003

Silicon Snake

Here are five main points from a variety of sources on the topic . . .

n Some say eventually traditional libraries will no longer exist

- the author is right in that a completely virtual library will never exist

- I feel that some hybrid may exist, with traditional material archived and librarians still there to guide and direct

- The author argues that research is too costly online, but in fact, it is much more efficient and convenient to perform. In a word where so much information exists the time saved alone would justify extra cost to perform online research

n In education (especially online learning) computers/internet cause a detrimental lack of social interaction

- If classes are held entirely online, I agree. However, there are many classes (for example, accounting, statistics) where online components provide a very useful supplement to traditional instruction. Human interaction is very useful supplement to traditional instruction. Human interaction is imperative when teaching children; after all, a computer or teacher online cannot always determine or offer needed praise or discipline. From now one, I believe computers will be an important part of the classroom, but will never completely replace face to face interaction

n Schools, libraries, and public agencies spend too much on technology

- I disagree with the author on this point; technology is a necessary expense to keep students current, and to deal with information resources

- Public funds should be spent as the majority opinion deems fit

- Schools have different budgets for spending of funds and it is unfair to say that schools are spending too much if they have allotted a great amount

n Information available on internet is often wrong and misleading

- As long s reputable websites are visited, (for example, educational institutions or government agencies) this is not a problem

- If a good search engine (such as PubMed) is used, only valid and reputable information is retrieved

- Filers can be used to some extent to retrieve only good information

- Most people are able to distinguish the difference between non-validated websites and reputable ones

n The internet is poor for commerce

- E-commerce will never completely replace traditional stores people will always need to try on clothes or test drive cars

- I believe that the internet can replace some commerce-related needs, such as repeat ordering or catalogues

- The author is correct that customer service is degraded when handled completely online