History+of+Internet+in+Education

After the Internet started use it was decided by national governments that is should be used in higher education. It was to be used by all students not just those with science backgrounds. In 1984 the British created JANET (Joint Academic Network) and then the following year the US National Science Foundation created NSFNet. In order for schools to get funding all qualified users needed to have access and they had rules to follow: · Federal agencies would share the cost · NSFNet made sure there would be “no-metered-cost” · It was backed by the “Internet Activities Board” – descendent of the group started in 1972 · The NSFNet also agreed to provide the “backbone” for the US internet service · One key limitation was that it was only to be used for educational purposes

The Internet started as a very basic skeleton in education. It was used in universities to aid in research. Today the Internet is a daily ritual for most. May students wake up and are all over their MySpace pages before they are even dressed in the morning. School use of the Internet still includes research just like 25 years ago however; it has grown in leaps and bounds. More and more we are seeing the development of virtual schools. They started off as a lonely experience in front of a computer. They have now grown drastically into virtual learning communities. It is also much more common to have classes online. The benefits of vast resources and flexible hours are appealing to more and more people.

There are projects around the world where distance learning is key. In India and Morocco they have chosen to retrain all of their teachers in technology and new methods of teaching. They are doing this but creating learning centers where all of the teachers meet and in distance learning classes are being retrained in what is important now. They have one base center and through virtual learning they are retraining all of their teachers to change the education system.

The Internet in education is a great tool for both students and teachers to develop their skills. The history is not exactly clear and we do not know what the future holds, but we do know we have come a long way from a one-room schoolhouse!

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