Many programs and enterprises are breaking down the barriers to Internet access around the world. They specifically target educational groups as primary benefactors of interconnectivity. United States Government officials also have pledged to get involved. For students, one of the most exciting applications of the Internet in education is as a prompt for virtual expeditions, explorations, investigations, and discussions, all of which provide occasions for shared inquiry. Unique interactive educational tools have been developed that offer special learning opportunities and first-hand experiences to students around the world through sites on the World Wide Web.
Students can vicariously experience things over the Internet that are otherwise out of reach.
These tools enhance a curriculum by focusing on social studies, history and current events, creative writing, global issues, community problems, and cross-cultural understanding. Some adventures like these also have been turned into interactive adventure educational tools, like those found in CCCNet's Project Zone of innovative, collaborative, curriculum-based projects that combine the unique features of the Web with solid instructional content. In addition, there are many other groups that use the Web as tools for collecting and disseminating information about educational resources on and off the Internet. These efforts have been aimed at increasing the reach and appeal of the Internet, for if we do not encourage and provide universal access to it, we may fall short of realizing some of the many potentialities of students, of our society and our world. There is a great deal more work to be done.