However, the continuous use of the Internet system can cause many problems. In the traditional classroom, the teacher took care of not only the student's studies, that is to say learning of knowledge, but his/her morality. However, in the new Internet system, the parent has to take care of all the student's life outside studies. Thus the influence of the parent over the child's education increases and education becomes very much depended on how much the parent cares about the child. The child is also likely to grow up just like the parent, which can result in bad consequences such as the child's having an abused and one-sided view about issues inherited from the parent. This may as well cause isolation from the outer world and consequently a lack of ability in inter-human communication such as determining feelings and thoughts. It is then possible that difficulties may arise in adapting to social life to children educated in an internet-based way.
Now, I shall look at my own experience in traditional and Internet classes. I usually enjoy school because I can talk to my teacher and friends and there are a lot of fun classes. Still, sometimes, when I feel tired, I complain about walking the half a mile to school every day because it's hard and tedious walking. Then I think, "God, I could do with an Internet class." Also, when I have flu, I cannot go to school, so I am unable to study, but in an Internet classroom I just can work on my computer in a comfortable way. On the other hand, I enjoy my English Essay Class but I sometimes thought I would really like to meet the teacher and my classmates. I do not know what kind of people they are, so I sometimes feel as if I am communicating with a faceless stranger, or a machine. I cannot talk to them freely: private conversation on the Internet is a bit difficult and it is hard to open my mind and have deep talks with people on-line. Now, these forms of learning all have some problems. School is a program not only to develop children's knowledge but to prepare them for social life and I feel it might be hard to operate on the Internet because of the reasons before-mentioned. Whereas a class like our essay class might be very well on-line because it's only for improving our English writing abilities: it could give opportunities to learn to people who cannot come and go to classes for their reasons. It is my beliefs that the forms of the classes, their differences and their aims, make on-line learning possible or impossible.
I have reflected the strengths and weaknesses of the Internet classroom and my experience taking part in both types of classes, internet-based and traditional. Now, my conclusion can be reached that the traditional classroom is preferable to the Internet classroom because we can communicate and exchange ideas with other people. Some people might say that the traditional classroom system has gone on for more than a millennium and it is time for some change. But the traditional classroom has a great power that nothing can substitute: communication between teacher and student and among friends. This power will help us very much when we go out into the wide world later and a boundless use of the Internet classroom would be very rash as it lacks this importance. The traditional classroom has also generally proved effective and not shown any major problems. Perfecting what needs to be perfected is very important but desiring change for nothing is outside the boundaries of perfection. Still, a limited use of the Internet-based learning system at appropriate situations would be very desirable to improve the weaknesses of the traditional schooling system.
In conclusion, we must maintain the traditional schooling system for its strengths in communication between individuals. We should at the same time use the internet-based learning system in a limited way to revise the problems of the traditional classroom. It will provide opportunities of better education for people under unfortunate circumstances I have mentioned before. If we use the Internet classroom in a profitable way while preserving the traditional classroom, we would be able to guarantee an education of fine quality for all humanity, which will contribute to the development and prosperity of the world.
*This essay was written in May 2008 under the persuasive topic 'Internet Classrooms vs. Traditional Classrooms.' I received a prize for Excellence at the 2008 English Essay Course (20/04/08~10/12/08) offered by the Seoul Education Research and Information Institute. I read this prize-winning essay at the finishing ceremony of the Essay Class in 24 December 2008 representing the 12 winners of prizes in the Primary area.
