Trish Lannon
LS 521 Spring 2002
February 5, 2002
Journal Article \ #2

Starr, Linda. (2000), How Can Schools Make Better Use of the Internet? Education World. Retrieved February 5, 2002, from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech036.shtml

A survey done by the National Schools Boards Foundation showed that schools spent a lot of time making sure students were safe when using the Internet, but needed to devote as much, or more time, to educating students on the proper use of the Internet. The number of students using the Internet at home has increased, but what skills are they armed with in dealing with unsolicited spam, contests, or inadvertently clicking on an inappropriate web site? The parents surveyed say they trust their children and have found their interest in school has increased due to the Internet. However, the parents expectations of the teachers and the school to use the Internet in an educational way, are very high. This could pose as a problem if schools fail to live up to those expectations. Once again, schools need to look at educating teachers on how to integrate Internet use in their curriculum. The article also suggests that schools arrange to have parents trained on the use of the Internet to bridge the gap between home and school.

I believe the survey results really hit the nail on the head. Once again, schools rush to purchase hardware and software, but forget about training the very people who have to teach the students to use it! I really liked the suggestion that parents need to be trained as well. I thought it was interesting that the parents who were surveyed said they trust their child on the Internet and never consider reducing the amount of time they are on it. Do these parents sit with their kids? Would they let their child view a movie they knew nothing about? No, they wouldn't, but they are comfortable letting children surf the net by themselves. All the more reason why both parents and teachers should be given the opportunity to learn about the Internet and have them design a policy for themselves on the proper use of the Internet.