The pros and cons of the use of the internet for educational purposes
Starting out in 1996 as a research project, Google (a huge searching engine) grew into most users’ favorite site for searching the internet. Last year, Google made 29 billion dollars. That is approximately 929 dollars per second. Google is a good example for the age we are living in: we live in an age where we have access to more information and at a faster rate than any generation before us. There are both positive and negative side effects that come along with the use of internet for educational purposes. Keeping both the positive and the negative side effects in mind can help educators to evaluate whether or not their students should have access to the internet and, of course, to what extent.
Due to sites such as Google, students can do research way easier and faster that it has ever been. I myself, for example, had not done any research in books before I started writing my final paper. This can be considered either as a positive side as as a negative side of the use of internet for educational purposes. Students have access to a lot more information by means of the internet than before. But this can be problematic if students are not able to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources of information. Some sites do provide valuable good resources for students while others have lots of inexactitudes on them.

Internet also allows contacting people. Students can now easily have contact with other students of their class or other students all around the world. They can collaborate on projects and be useful allies to one another. They can also contact their teachers easier than before due to the use of internet. They can mail them or even send them a message on Twitter or Facebook. However, students who are contacting other students can run into deceptive individuals. Therefore, the fact that internet allows to contact people has both a positive and a negative side as well.
In addition, using internet for educational purposes also provides an interactive way of learning. For students who can not concentrate as much as the average student is able to, interactive learning can be a good alternative. Using Internet sources in class can also provide an alternately lesson which ensures that students become less bored. However, using the internet in class can also occupy part of the precious time there is. Hereby, students who need a little more time to ask questions will not get the time they need.
Finally, there is plagiarism. Plagiarism has always been a problem in secondary education, but no longer do students copy things from another student or from a book. They are now able to obtain entire papers online. Fortunately, there now are services, plagiarism checkers, that will check if the student’s paper is obtained online.
In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages to the use of internet for educational purposes. Internet enables easier research, a more interactive way of learning and an easier way of contacting people. However, all those advantages bring also disadvantages such as unreliable sources, students contacting other deceptive students, plagiarism and the occupy of the precious time there is. Teachers should consider both the advantages and the disadvantages to make a proper choice between whether they will or will not use the internet for educational purposes.