It can transcend the boundaries of geography, age, nationality and economic status that persist in dividing people. The advent of advanced Internet-based learning technologies demands that we reconsider fundamental assumptions about our current educational system. New technology is going to change the learning process completely. Knowledge was accumulated in a mostly communal effort, in step with the maturity and skills of the students comprising the class. Today, however, Internet-based learning is much different.
Children can find information instantly with the click of a mouse.
The good news is that the Internet can expose young people to subjects that increase their intellectual maturity so that they can advance apace with their potential. The bad news is that it can expose children to material that overwhelms their emotional maturity. And, perhaps most troubling, the Internet can provide a refuge for the most disaffected and a repository for expressions of alienation and rage. One of our great challenges will be using the Internet as an educational tool, while protecting children from inappropriate material. Meeting that challenge will require the best efforts of families, the industry and all of us.