Placing laptops in schools has opened a window into a variety of research and online tools that are at almost any student's disposal. Within just a few minutes on the Internet, a whole list of resources provides information.

However, people have been known to abuse this power. Many of the sources that appear are either only skin deep or just wrong. The easy access of Internet resources may come at a cost to the quality of information.

As a senior at Empire High School, laptops are the No. 1 source of information for any paper or project. My first reaction to most assignments is to research it by typing in a couple of words on an online search engine. The sheer number of results that come up is always impossibly large and abundant, seemingly full of useful material.

Yet there have been multiple accounts of students placing false information in their papers that was not from a credible source. It seems that when using Web sites, it is hard to find the truth without checking from multiple sources.

This has been a cause of concern to many teachers. In my school, it has led to most of my teachers giving a list of requirements on what type of resources should be used. There is actually a limit on the number of Web sites that a student can use and a requirement to cite a minimum number of books or academic journals in the project.

Before the Internet and widespread availability of laptops, books would have been the primary and maybe even only source of information, but they are now a tool looked toward to provide accurate information. Web sites are just not trusted in many classrooms anymore due to the likelihood of misinformation. What seemed like a great way to access research has turned into dangerous ground.

This raises questions about whether the Internet is simply unusable for many resources, or if it can be a great tool when used correctly.

If the first is true, then the requirements set by many instructors concerning papers may be a sign of reverting back towards more traditional and reliable roots. If the second is true, these assignment restrictions may be seen as limiting. After all, there are Web sites that are valid. By setting a specific boundary, many conventional resources may be lost.

The obvious answer to this technologically-driven problem would be balance. The advantages that the Internet provides cannot be ignored. As a laptop school, Empire should not shirk certain aspects of technology that computers provide.

That is not to say books should be ignored, though. A rising problem with this more technological-driven generation is the lack of importance books are being given. Maybe policy can require a minimum number of books used for projects, but not limit the number of Web sites that can be used.

Limits set a cap on usefulness, especially in this era. It should not be an either or policy, but rather a policy that embraces all forms of valid research. It may seem that in many ways students are looking towards the future with their laptops, but the past is still very present in all of its reliability.
 

Abby Strassman
Senior
Empire High School