Internet Education

That social networking will be the future of education has always been an interesting idea to me. Most students cannot get enough of the internet and social networking. They log on and stay for hours and hours to see where the internet takes them. It could very well be said that people learn more things over the internet than in regular school, maybe because of the sheer number of hours that they spend on it. To add to that is the fact that everything just seems easier to absorb in that given setting. So why not harness social networking so that it can play a bigger role in education?

We see this mentality being welcomed gradually. But lots of concerns have to be balanced. On one hand, an education completely free of formal teaching may result in selective or defective learning, as in everything self-taught or do-it-yourself. On the other hand, instead of criticizing the internet for shortening our attention spans or for distracting us from formal education or for spoiling us with all its ease and speed, school should be developed to embrace the internet even more. While the idea is not necessarily targeted towards social networking sites as we know them, something similar would probably serve as a much needed addition to conventional teaching methods to keep things interesting and relevant.

The social networking approach is the perfect way to get students interested and even addicted to learning. While I do not think that it will become the sole method of education in the near future, as a limited tool, I think it can do wonders for today’s generation.