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> Does the Internet Improve Educational Levels,
Or Is It Just Another Toy?
Standardized test scores indicated that the students' reading grade level increased from 2.6 to 4.1 (sixth month of the second grade to the first month of the fourth grade), an average increase of 1.5, or one year plus 5 months' growth in one year's time. Educators inform me that it is extremely significant for an entire class to advance this far in one year. And standardized testing showed a substantial gain both in reading & in math. An interesting byproduct of the program was that children had a 100 percent homework completion rate. (I never came close to getting 100 percent of my homework turned in on time-or even turned in period.) Students in the program also had an increased attendance rate, & the program became a valuable resource for the PIE (Parents Internet Education) program in Baltimore County. A sad epilogue to this story is that, notwithstanding the overwhelming proof of how much the Internet & use of computers can help children learn, the students' new school, Dundalk Middle School, has decided not to allow the program to continue. But Bell Atlantic deserves a medal for what it has done for these children. (In fact, WiredPatrol gave it the WiredPatrol Internet Vision Award for the work it has done with children.) |
