Split on Need for Net Skills

High school students say the Net is a great help with schoolwork, and many feel they can do most of their research on a computer. Educators encourage its use but caution students not to rely on the Internet alone.

U.S. adults in general have mixed feelings on the topic. An Associated Press poll found they were about evenly split on the importance of Internet skills for students. About half said those skills are very important, and the other half said they are somewhat important or not important at all, according to the poll by ICR of Media, Pa.

Some educators, such as Vermont principal Elizabeth LeRoy, wonder whether the Internet can make things too easy. “My concern about using the Internet is that students might take an article directly off the Internet rather than reading it and summarizing it,” LeRoy said. “Usually, teachers require something besides a Web reference, like an encyclopedia.”

Other educators are less hesitant. Bruce Whitehead, a principal at Hellgate Elementary in Missoula, Mont., pushes students to develop Internet skills quickly at his school, which emphasizes technology. The school gets computers into the homes of students through tax write-off and donation programs.