The Necessities of the Internet Access in Schools

The issue whether the internet should be accessed in schools has been widely debated in recent
times. It is an important issue because it concerns the learning and future career opportunities of
children. This essay will argue that it is necessary to provide internet access in schools as it can
offer new ways of learning, improve childrens performance and prepare children for future jobs.
Firstly, Williams (2006) maintains that the use of the internet in schools cannot create new styles
of learning for children because of shortages of teachers with Information and Technology (IT)
skills leading to inadequate supervision of children. However, Hague and Williamson (2010)
point out that in recent times, many children have more abilities to use technology than older
generations so that they do not need intensive guidance from teachers. Moreover, students using
the internet are able to work with other learners to complete tasks and also to improve knowledge
and skills through playing games (Hague & Williamson, 2010). For example, more than 600
children in Sydney use online games to play maths against other children all over Australia
(Williams, 2006). As such, the internet access in schools is important to produce new ways of
learning.
Secondly, it has been claimed that the use of the internet in schools can reduce childrens
performance such as analysing and evaluating knowledge because they only copy and paste the
information without mastering it deeply (Hague & Williamson, 2010; Conradson & HernndezRamos, 2012). However, research carried out in 1996 showed that students using the internet
were more creative in completing their homework and also had a better ability to synthesize
different points of view (Gore, 1998). In addition, another study showed that, pupils have more
abilities in finishing assignments, solving questions, using particular search engines, typing skills
and also increasing scope of research (Amenyedzi, Lartey, & Dzomeku, 2011). Therefore,
internet access in schools does not reduce children ability to scrutinize sources.
Lastly, according to Daggett (2010), through computer and internet access, millions of students
in developing countries in all parts of the world have chances to obtain the skill set that is
necessary to compete worldwide for a future career. Another point to consider is that IT is the
main factor which transforms the economy and society, and the way people work and
communicate with one another (Gore, 1998). In addition, in the U.S, 60% of all jobs require

technology skills such as functional abilities of reading and writing digital texts so that these IT
skills should become an important requirement for people when looking for jobs. Moreover, in
recent years, IT and applicable technological innovations can boost economic growth further
than ever before (Dutta & Bilbao-Osorio, 2012). As a result, internet access in schools plays
significant role to prepare children for future jobs.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the use of internet in schools is beneficial for students as it can
offer new ways of learning, boost childrens performance and prepare children for future jobs.
Thus, if schools want to fulfill the necessity of children to learn at schools and help their future
careers, they should provide internet access in schools for students.

525 words

References
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