Thomas, K. (2000, February 17). Online schoolkids search, play all day: Educational sites given short shrift by students. USA Today, p. 3D.

OVERVIEW

N2H2 is a Seattle firm producing filtering software that screens out objectionable sites for school computers on the Internet. It has just done a study of how students are using the Internet. 350,000 Students in 43 cities were monitored.

• Half of all school traffic goes to 100 sites.
• Students rely on word-of-mouth recommendations.
• Students waste a great deal of time wondering around the Web.
• They are also spending more class time at entertainment than educational sites.
• Because many entertainment sites have good educational content, students are not entirely wasting their time.
• The top 2,000 sites accounted for 80% of all school traffic.

Of the top 300 sites accessed by students, here are the percentages of traffic:

About the limited amount of sites visited, Jim O’Halloran of N2H2 says, " ‘It mirrors what happens in library collections.’ " In other words, student selections of library books also depend on recommendations and accessibility. He adds, " ‘students are just flailing around the Web. They’re wasting their time using ineffective techniques’ " for finding information.

David Byer is director of the Web-based Education Commission and believes students rely too much on word-of-mouth recommendations.

‘Because this is such a vast, unexplored horizon, one of the first instincts is to go to those places suggested or recommended by trusted sources: parents, teachers and friends.’

Cheryl Wilmot, director of educational technology programs a the National School Boards Association, cautions about too quick an assessment from the above information.

‘(The data could represent) a kid in the library on his lunch hour surfing the Web in his spare time, or a kid in language arts class searching a PBS program on "Madame Bovary." ’

Byers adds this note about students at entertainment sites:

‘(There is good educational content provided by many entertainment companies.) It’s a good thing, as long as those companies are benchmarking their content against valid educational frameworks. In talking to lots of companies, that’s what they say they are doing.’

O’Halloran, of N2H2 which produced this study, admits it is too soon to draw clear conclusions. " ‘We’re just starting to work with the data,’ " he says, but he cautions that most entertainment sites focus on music, sports, film and games.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you think some political and business leaders overemphasized the educational possibilities of the Internet, or minimized what it will take to make Internet research pay off educationally?
2. What do you think are the educational possibilities of the Internet at this time?
3. What would it take to make each student’s use of the Internet educationally efficient and effective?

IMPLICATIONS

• The Internet certainly holds possibilities for research and educational development.
• The role of the teacher, teaching aids, or peer mentors are critical if the use of the Internet is to be efficiently and effectively used.
• Too much reliance on the computer and Internet in schools may continue the lack of social interaction that students and all of us need.

Dean Borgman cCYS