What role does the internet play in education? At UNIR we address the relationship between education and the Internet, its influence in the classroom, and its pros and cons.
The Internet has been a real earthquake in our way of life. Technology has changed the way we interact, how we shop, and also how we study. If you are a teacher or you are studying to be one and you are interested in how the Internet influences education and learning processes. In this post from UNIR, we address the relationship between education. And the Internet, its influence in the classroom, and its advantages and disadvantages.
The role of the internet in education today
The use of the Internet in education makes it possible to exchange information, strengthen communication, debate and expand the frontiers of knowledge. Through platforms that connect teachers and students, anyone with the minimal motivation to learn about new subjects will find a community willing to share learning materials, collaborate, analyze and create debates with which to move towards new paths. The Internet is the bridge capable of connecting the knowledge of people who, in offline life. May not have the way to meet and establish those educational links.
This powerful technological tool helps reduce the geographical. And the temporal distance of people and offers access to highly relevant learning opportunities for students. Its influence on teaching processes can be seen in aspects such as the introduction of different technological tools in the various educational programs: from the desktop computers with which the first computer science subjects were taught a few decades ago during Secondary Education, until the arrival of tablets to classrooms of subjects such as Technology so that students learn the first concepts about programming.
But the Internet’s footprint in education goes beyond electronic devices: access to various sources of information online has transformed the way in which students have access to training resources. The information to prepare your projects. Or exams are no longer limited to the materials offered by teachers or in traditional encyclopedias. Now the limit is set by the time they want to be browsing online in search of answers.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Internet in education
The correct use of technology can be an engine that drives learning. This is the reason why, little by little, different digital tools have been introduced in educational centers that have given students and teachers greater access to information and that have served to motivate and encourage the development of students, both on the school level as well as on the personal level.
Education experts highlight among the advantages of applying the Internet in the classroom:
- – Helps to develop autonomy, initiative, creativity, and motivation: the Internet offers greater access to information. Both complimentary about the lessons that are addressed in class and new approaches. And topics with which the student can continue learning about a matter autonomously.
- – Promotes interactivity and cooperation: encourages communication between members of the school community. And creates environments for debate that serve to enrich learning.
- – It is a way to facilitate non-face-to-face teaching. Either because students live far from educational centers or because they cannot attend on time.
Despite its vast advantages, the Internet also has several drawbacks for education:
- – This greater access to information can lead students to unreliable sources or with data that cannot be verified. Which can lead to erroneous learning of the subject if they do not rely on teachers to verify the contents.
- – The ability to interact with other people can also be affected by excessive use of the Internet. Slowing the development of social skills. And causing the person’s isolation if it is not known to detect in time and guide them appropriately in this regard.
- – Digital divide: a significant part of the students still cannot access the Internet from their home either. Because they do not have an appropriate device or because they cannot afford to pay for a connection. So they will be displaced from all the initiatives that are developed in this channel if solutions are not available.
Faced with these drawbacks, schools that are committed to the inclusion of technology among their teaching tools must ensure that they do not generate exclusion of a part of their students and that they carry out individualized monitoring of learning to ensure that they take advantage of technology “without getting lost along the way ”and create inequalities.
