The Internet in Education: A Good or Bad Thing?
If you need help with schoolwork, just Google for it. If you need answers for schoolwork, just Google for it. These two statements seem like moral opposites, but they are actually linked to each other. Throughout the years, technological advancements have grown all over the world. However, the amount of students Googling for answers has been growing exponentially while the amount of students Googling to learn has remained stagnant. Google is a great resource but is is also a destructive force.
Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-smartphone-macbook-mockup-67112/
Google is a great resource for students, teachers, and parents. However, it is not a resource that is designed for a specific use; rather, Google is flexible. This may be difficult to understand, so here is an example. If you were to go to Khan Academy and use their resources, you will find that there are resources that teach you how to do certain problems in fields like mathematics and science. If you went to a resource like teachertube you could find many videos that could help you learn grammatical rules and facts about history. If a student wanted to find answers for questions they could easily just use a website like Brainly and Quizlet. These websites are all relevant to Google, because they are all linked to it. That is the problem with Google, it is a gateway that is treated as a resource.
Even if people misuse it, Google is still a resource. The difference is that Google is not defined. Sure, it can be a resource for studying, but it can also be a resource for cheating. Unlike other websites that are designated for cheating or as additional instruction, Google sits in a grey area which is still not fully defined. There is really no solution to force students to use Google as a resource for learning rather than a resource for cheating. Many students will inevitably use Google to cheat, and they will regret it later in life.
Eleven months ago, a reddit user posted to the forum, r/cscareerquestions. While normally reddit is considered a very unreliable source, the first person insight here is very helpful to understanding the consequences of cheating. In his post, this reddit user says, “I am so lucky I am even employed right now as I am way too scared to write programs because I do not know how. I know that if I am fired or laid off I won't get a job anywhere else... I wish I could go back in time and actually pay attention in my classes. I wish I had more of a drive to develop on my free time. I just wish I could start college again and actually learn something so I could be good at what I do.” This paragraph shows the consequences that cheating has had on this students life. They are now stuck at a job where they do not understand anything. Due to their lack of experience, this person is scared to do their job. They do not understand what they are doing, and this has caused immense stress for this person.
We perceive students who cheat as hooligans and use this to reflect on the moral values of those student. However, cheating is a symptom of a much bigger problem. The problem being that students are scared to fail. Schools often punish students for doing poorly. In high school,heir GPA might plunder if they do not do well on tests and assignments, and students may lose their scholarships while at college This fear causes students to turn to cheating as a way to avoid failure.
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The only way for schools to solve the cheating problem is to reduce the pressure placed on students over their education. School should be a place to make mistakes and learn from them so that you won't make them later in life. Instead, schools are about how perfect students are from childbirth. According to Ranking America, “The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance.” America is a first world country and since we are teaching students for a test, they never learn anything. Students are not learning in America as they are pressured to be perfect to go to college, maintain scholarships, or to not lose an entire semester worth of money by failing a few classes. The American school system needs reform and this starts with school boards and ends at the federal level. We must do something to save the school system. Otherwise, kids will just continue cheating.
Sources:
https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/category/education/
Gustavo Hernandez is a high school sophomore with hopes of one day starting a gaming company. He can be contacted at gustavohernandez@smilesforlearning.org.
