Can the Internet be a Savior for Educational Purposes?

The internet has changed the world, as we know it. We no longer drive down to a local bank to make a transaction. We have online banking apps for that. With a few taps here and there, we can send or receive money instantly over the internet. Similarly, we can seek medical assistance from a healthcare professional through video consultation, also powered by the internet. Seeing our physical reality morph into a virtual one with the up-and-coming “Meta” is another innovation of this marvelous technology. The list goes on.

Thus, it is safe to say that the internet has transformed our lives for the better. It has minimized hassle and maximized convenience. It continues to drive change and as we move into 2024, we are witnessing newer applications of the internet in sectors hitherto untouched by it. Yes, just like agriculture, entertainment, and governance, the internet has found a place in the field of education.

The educational sector has been a rather traditional, tight-lipped one, deploying ancient pedagogical methods of instruction throughout the establishments, which have failed to keep up with the progress of the times. The world is moving at a rapid pace. Having an internet connection at home is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Internet service providers are working towards a broadband expansion in the US and offering remarkable network speeds so both students and teachers can stay connected no matter where they are. Click on this link to find out more about such broadband plans.

The point is that it is high time the entire educational landscape underwent a major reformation and rehabilitation. The question is can the internet bring about this change? Can it be a savior for educational purposes? Let us see what the internet has to offer in the domain of education:

Access to a Wealth of Educational Resources

Information accessibility is one of the strongest suits of the internet. When you are online, you can search for anything from a pie recipe to an academic paper, and get the most relevant results within seconds. So, with its wealth of information, the internet aids both students and teachers. Students can:

• Read the latest posts on the school blog to know what’s going on around the campus.
• Download study materials and additional learning resources from an online educational tool like studocu.com. or the school website itself. This type of online study tool allows students to access study notes, books, summaries, and assignments from anywhere at any time.
• Collaborate on projects and communicate with their peers easily through instant messaging apps and classroom portals.
• Record lectures and watch them later to let the concepts sink in, etc.

On the other hand, teachers can diversify their lessons with the help of internet technology, as well. To explain geography better, they can take the students on a ride to the farthest reaches of the Earth through Google Maps. Chemistry experiments can be done safely in VR simulated labs, while elementary math problems can be made fun and engaging when explained through cartoons characters.

Another amazing feature of the internet is that it empowers teachers to design quizzes based on each student’s capabilities. This personalized model of instruction, instead of a one-size-fits-all strategy, proves to be more effective. Therefore, the internet provides a whole repository of content and data not just to students but also to teachers, opening up new avenues of academic learning.

Active Engagement & Participation in the Classroom

A classroom prepares students for their futures. If the students remain “passive” listeners while the teacher drones on and on, they are not going to learn anything substantial, are they? Though this type of instructional methodology has held a value of its own in the past, it is no longer valid. The world of today demands students to be active thinkers, problem solvers, excellent communicators, and well-aware tech-enthusiasts, who know their way around search engines, software, and other tools. The introduction of the internet in the classroom turns this dream into a reality.

With the help of the internet, students can enhance their learning through means other than mere instruction. They can:

• Create digital models to increase their understanding.
• Learn to navigate websites for academic research.
• Raise their opinions in the real or virtual classrooms.
• Work within teams for a hands-on learning experience, etc.

So, the internet enables students to speak up and participate actively in the class. Teachers can spike their interests with dynamic instructional material and then let the students take over from there. This is how by stepping into leadership roles and behaving democratically, students can retain information better and position themselves favorably in the professional world ahead.

Countless Opportunities of Distance Learning

Not everyone can afford to attend schools physically. This is where remote learning or e-education comes to the rescue. The COVID-19 pandemic, when it first instigated country-wide lockdowns in the year 2024, showed us how technology could bring classroom instruction to a student’s home and how the internet could help them continue their academic trajectory.

As schools closed down, teachers took to Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms to impart lessons to students, who were required to show up online and attend the virtual classes on their touchscreen devices. The government, FCC, and internet providers also played a critical role in supplying high-speed bandwidth to residential areas. Some ISPs even dialed down the cost for the internet to subsidize households having K-12 students. Though the pandemic has subsided to some extent, remote learning continues to this day. It allows students to:

• Engage in lessons from the safety and comfort of their homes.
• Cut expenses on accommodation, school lunch, and commute.
• Manage their schedules better with self-paced learning.
• Take specialized courses from Ivy-league instructors in their free time to increase their skill-set, etc.

Therefore, by facilitating online learning, the internet breaks the bounds of space and time and truly transforms the entire educational landscape.

The Final Word

Without a doubt, the internet has introduced new routes of learning and training for students and teachers, which keep getting “smarter” with each passing day. Knowledge and information has transitioned online, and the average four-walled classrooms of yore have been one-upped by virtual interactions. So, yes, we can surely say that the internet can be considered a savior for educational purposes.