I disagree with John Fang’s oversimplified statement about the internet. Any technology is just a tool. Its value depends on how people use it. Nuclear power, for example, can provide heat and light for our homes and businesses, or it can be developed as a deadly weapon. For scientists nowadays, the internet is essential for research. It saves us from having to run to the library to make a photocopy of that paper we need; instead, we can download the electronic file at our desks with a few clicks.
I believe Fang’s observation stems from young people’s frequent misuse of the internet. In my opinion, well-designed homework is the key to getting students to find answers in nature rather than from computers. Teachers who regularly assign homework whose answers are easily found on the internet perhaps need to examine their teaching methods.
When I taught Newton’s third law of motion, I demonstrated how to use a balloon to propel a small cart and explained why it worked. Then I gave students the homework assignment of finding other ways to move the cart or to improve its efficiency, and I required that they make their own carts. They could search the internet for instructions, but they eventually had to make a real cart, which involved their using technical skills. Since grading of the homework was based on how far the cart could go and how innovative the method was to propel the cart, my students spent much more time on testing their carts than in front of the computers. As a teacher, I also had to spend a lot of time on the internet so that I could judge whether the students’ designs were really their own.
Finally, let me underscore that the proper uses of science and technology are keys to making life better, for ourselves and for the planet.
