DHAHRAN, 10 June — The Internet has opened up new opportunities for trade and industry and brought a wealth of information. It also proved a boon and guiding factor for millions of students across the globe. It is now becoming a major supplement to classroom education and students can now look beyond their teachers and classroom learning.
There are hundreds of sites available catering to the different needs of students of various stages. There are sites, which just supplement the classroom work. Then there are more than a dozen sites which prepare students for their examinations.
In India, for example, www.preexams.com prepares students of different courses for their final examinations. Sites like these do not spoil children with “guess” question papers or provide short cuts to success. Rather they prepare questions on the basis of the past examinations and then allow the child to test himself. Similarly, for competitive exams there are sites in India and Pakistan which provide guidance to the competitors by giving them model question paper, the latest trends and what is required from the competitors to compete.
Many universities have already prepared a syllabus for education through Internet. Until now these courses were for professionals, but in India several universities are about to launch program under their “continuation of education” programs. Under this program, a student can pursue higher studies and take course through Internet.
Microsoft long ago introduced advanced courses in computer technology with both courses and examinations accessible on the Internet. Evaluation of answer sheets is instant. Many business establishments and institutions recognize MCSE. The company continuously upgrades its courses and examination pattern to suit the new requirements.
To allow our children to benefit from this trend, the Internet has to be made accessible to them not only at home but in classrooms as well. The entire education system has to be reviewed in view of the new technology. Many educational institutions have made computer courses compulsory at the secondary level, but in many schools it is just cosmetic. No proper courses are established nor their marks included in the final examinations. At the International Indian School in Dammam, although computer courses are compulsory, the same lessons are taught in almost every class. One student lamented that for the past three years he has been taught only basic programming.
This leads to a casual approach among the students and as a result there is no growth in their knowledge in the field of information technology. Indian schoolchildren have the satisfaction that at least they have computer courses, but there are several international schools in the Kingdom who do not offer any course in computer technology even at the higher secondary level.
The school management and teachers do not realize that if computers are properly taught at early stage of education then along with the students, the school too will be benefited. A teacher can teach more comfortably on a computer screen through Internet than on the blackboard using notes.
It is not possible that on the one hand the society makes big strides in various fields and on the other it continues with the traditional education system. A balance has to be struck between technological advances and the education system. This can only be achieved if we amalgamate our education system with information technology.
No doubt there will always be concerns about children visiting indecent and unwanted sites, but then this could always be checked either by creating firewalls or by a constant monitoring of teachers in the classrooms and parents at home.
