Computer in Education : Help or Hurt

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorUniversity, Bachelor's February 2008

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While the computer and Internet provide a wealth of information and a source of entertainment, it is not the ideal environment for teaching and learning. The computer and the Internet are like our textbooks and encyclopedias. However, all-encompassing they are, they are still not replacements for the classroom and the teacher. One does not gain all the knowledge in life from the Internet or from textbooks; rather, one gains knowledge through the process of reading and learning. The experience of gaining knowledge is also as important, if not more important, than knowledge itself. One must realise that while the computer and Internet provide the necessary knowledge, it is the classroom and the teacher that provide the learning environment and the inter-personal interactions.

Improvements in technology have given us the Internet, allowing us access to a whole horde of information throughout the world, from science and technology to entertainment, to movies, and so much more.

This wealth of knowledge may seem frightening, because such amounts of information would surely need regulation and supervision in order to prevent abuse. That is why government agencies are given the task of screening out unwanted or undesirable information like pornography. Students using the Internet are given access to so much more information than they are usually accustomed to. But they do not learn how to screen the information and take out those segments that are useful and important. This is one skill that is not taught in the Internet but in classrooms by the teachers.

In addition, students using the Internet do not get to interact much with people, except through electronic chatting. However, this does not provide sufficient stimulus for students to develop inter-personal skills between friends and with elders. Such skills are essential to them when they are in society, starting to...