Research Korner: Internet Communications Research Report

Table of Contents       Title                                                                                                                             2   1. Introduction                                                                                                                        2                         1.1. Background of the Study                                                                                    4                                  1.2. Objectives of the Study                                                                           5                                  1.3. Statement of the Problem                                                                                    6                        2. Review of Related Literature                                                                                 6   3. Research Methodology                                                                                           10               3.1. Research Design and Data Collection Method                                       10             3.2. Sampling Methods                                                                                   12   4. Findings and Results of the Research Study                                                          13   5. Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations                                                   16               5.1. Discussion of Results and Findings                                                         16             5.2. Conclusions                                                                                              20             5.3. Recommendations                                                                                   21     Works Cited                                                                                                                22     Appendices                                                                                                                 23               Appendix A                                                                                                    23             Appendix B                                                                                                    23                     Name: Course Number: Date:     Students and the Internet: How Cyber Culture Changed our Schools   1. Introduction             The fast-paced and dynamic changes that happen in the society nowadays have led to the increase in the development and improvement of the different aspects, including technology, communication, economics, and education. In particular, the development in technology and communication has paved way to the improvement of education, which has become one of the relevant issues that is being addressed in academic and educational institutions. The use of technology and communication has extend not only to the business and marketing sector, but also to the education sector, which creates a technology-based culture and new attitudes on those who apply it. In addition, such application in the education sector has led to the ubiquity of Internet cafés in recent years, such that it provides access to information, basic access to health and other services, and provides cheap and efficient way of communicating, considering the limited purchasing power and poor infrastructure. However, the high Internet access rate in the United States today does not take place in Internet cafés alone, but its increase is also attributed to the Internet access at home and at school. Wells and Lewis reported for the National Center for Education Statistics that in the Fall of 2005, nearly 100% of public schools in the United States had access to the Internet, compared with 35% of Internet access in 1994. In simple terms, more students are having access to the Internet, creating more users, and contributing to the already growing cyber society and the development of a cyber culture.             The use of the Internet helps create a cyber society, which develops a cyber culture on those who use it more often, and has become important in addressing the use of the Internet in the improvement of education. Thus, cyber culture creates a new attitude on students because they adopt what they have learned in the Internet to their actual interaction with their fellow students and teachers. With this statement in mind, the main goal of this research study is to identify how cyber culture changes the school community in the United States, which plays an important role in the development of education.             This thesis will be divided into five chapters in order to provide clarity and coherence on the discussion of the topic. The first part of the thesis will be discussing the problem uncovered by the researcher and provide ample background to the topic. The second chapter will be discussing the relevance of the study in the existing literature, which will provide studies on different means of education, including ICT education, the different uses, the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet, the development of Internet cafés, and the effect of the use of the Internet to the students, teachers and parents. The third part of the thesis will discuss the methods and procedures used in the study, and comprise the presentation of the utilized techniques for data collection and research methodology. The fourth chapter will be an analysis on the tabulated data, which will include the use of computations, graphs, charts and tables, in order to uncover the relationship of the variables involved in the study. With the said data, the chapter seeks to address the statement of the problem noted in the first chapter. The last chapter will be comprised of three sections, which include the discussion of the findings and results, the conclusions of the thesis, and the recommendations for the study. With these three portions, the chapter will be able to highlight the implication of the findings in relation to the data obtained in the thesis.   1.1Background of the Study             Culture can be defined as the ways of acting, thinking and feeling, which are transmitted from generation to generation, and across societies through learning, not through inheritance (). Culture includes language and technology, both of which involve the communication of ideas and the possibility of sophisticated coordination of action. Culture vastly enhances adaptability (), thus, allow individuals to cope with the changes that happen in the society. A specific culture is being developed and learned in a specific society. A society is basically the overall relationship among humans and the things that surround us (). Human society in general, extends to all human beings, with which refers to the total number of members of the animal species (). In relation to this is the fact that the development of a specific culture depends on the influence of a community, particularly, an educational community. Ellen Hall and Richard Handley report that an educational community can provide support for its members to succeed, given that it is small and intimate enough for every member to know each other’s needs (). With this importance, it can be understood that a community must be small and intimate for a particular culture to be inculcated in the practices of members. This aspect can be observed in understanding the concept of cyber culture.   The importance of the concept of cyber culture would be appreciated more effectively with knowing the idea of a cyber society. In relation to the general definition of a society, cyber society, thus, can be defined as the overall relationship among humans, software, programs and others through the use of the Internet. Similar to an actual society, the cyber society also has norms and cultures that members ritually or habitually conform to. The norms and culture specified here in particular is cyber culture. This is basically the culture present in online societies or communities. Communities include online forums, chats and other specialized websites that discusses a particular topic. Nevertheless, the development of such online communities transcends even the educational sector, such that nowadays, schools distribute reading materials online, with instructions being delivered to students and to teachers through emails (). With this, the importance of the use of the Internet becomes inevitable, as many individuals, especially students become highly dependent on it. The World Wide Web, now, becomes crucial to the improvement and development of education in the United States. However, the use and importance of the Internet in obtaining education is perceived to present both advantages and disadvantages, thus, is not completely regarded as beneficial to students. The close contact between cyber culture, the Internet, and school communities develops a new culture and new attitudes in relation to obtaining education in the United States, which affects the practices, values and attitudes of American students. With this, this research paper or thesis presents views of students, teachers and parents in relation to the use of the Internet as a means of obtaining education in the United States.        1.2 Objectives of the Study             The main aim of the study is to be able to identify the effects of cyber culture to the school community or to its culture. It aims to determine if such connection or interaction has any positive or negative impacts to the latter. Through this study, the following objectives will be completed: Ø      To conduct a survey on several students who are active of a particular cyber society, within a specific school; Ø      To conduct a survey on teachers who are teaching in a school where students have 100% access to the Internet; and Ø      To be able to assess and analyze the impact of Internet access and cyber culture among students on the progress of learning and the environment of the school   1.3 Statement of the Problem           The main question or problem that the study will try to answer is how cyber culture changes the school community in the United States. Additionally, the following research questions will also be explored in the study: Ø      What are the positive and negative effects of Internet access to schools in the United States? Ø      Does cyber culture affect the learning progress of students within these schools? Ø      How do the teachers view cyber culture? Do they think it can help in the creation of a better learning environment? Ø      How do the students view cyber culture? Are they fond of cyber culture or do they think it is just a waste of time? Ø      What are the advantages and disadvantages of cyber culture within the school community?   2. Review of Related Literature             It has already been mentioned that specific cultures are being developed in specific communities and societies, including the educational community, such as schools, universities and academic institutions. The culture being developed in academic institutions depends on the method or form of educational methods being implored. There are two known methods or forms of education, namely the conventional method and the ICT education. The conventional methods of education refer the traditional strategies or ways of obtaining education, which include classroom discussions, the use of chalks and blackboards, school bells, the library, assignments, and detention. In addition, students and school staff wear khaki pants and shirts, the men and boys wear sporting ties, and when classes change, students line up single file in corridors, their three-ring binders bursting with papers, and walking in silence until a teacher greets them and invites them into their next class (). However, with the development and improvement of technology and communication, the use of the Internet now becomes a good means of education for many. With this, the implementation of ICT education or educational technology plays an important role in academic institutions. Information and Communications Technology or ICT education uses the computer and the Internet in providing education, knowledge and learning to individuals, especially to students. It has been reported that over the past twenty years, the implementation of ICT education has been constantly updated through investing large sums of money in equipment, software and training, which need to be continuously upgraded or renewed (). With this, many billions of dollars and much energy, good will and time have been spent in introducing a number of generations of computer to academic institutions, in the aim to introduce ICT education, and these efforts are closely followed by the introduction of multimedia and the Internet (). Aside from the large costs associated with the equipments to be used is the expensive cost of the technology itself that is required in ICT education. This technology must afford significant educational advantage, and must be networked and portable (). Along with these is the adjustment of teachers to accommodate the use of such technology, which entails a good deal of time, effort and money for training. ICT education and the online program is undoubtedly the most serious challenge to conventional academia, which includes no dormitories, no fraternities, sororities or student organizations and publications, not even a library, and no traditional campus (). With this, it can be understood that the implementation of ICT education in academic institutions entails a lot of preparation, compared to the implementation of conventional methods of education.             However, the changes that happen in the society nowadays force many academic institutions to try revolutionary strategies or forms of education, which involves the use of the Internet. With this, the use of the Internet must be evaluated, in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of using the Internet is being an effective and efficient means of communicating with individuals irregardless of distance, culture, and race. With the use of the Internet, more individuals are able to relate with each other, through chat rooms, emails and other interactive websites. In addition, the use of the Internet enables individuals to dissipate and receive relevant and useful information from other individuals on the other side of the planet, including gossips, news, and fashion. Some online companies also established themselves in terms of online auctions, such as eBay and Monster.com. The use of such websites enables consumers to obtain information on different products and services available. In relation to this use is the further improvement and development of the business and marketing sector, which is further enhanced with the use of technology. As such, the role of the Internet in communication is being emphasized through this. The second advantage of using the Internet is related to entertainment. The development of the World Wide Web led many online companies to generate online games and other websites that provide entertainment to Internet users. This form of advantage enables many users to maximize the use of the Internet because it serves a good means of relaxation for them, such that the Internet has a variety of websites that offer online games, downloadable games, interactive and role-playing games, and many others. In addition, as a source of entertainment, Internet users can also websites that offer horoscopes, the latest news from their favorite stars, online dating and making friends, and many others. The Internet also provides users with collectible items, such as wallpapers, screen savers, music, and videos, which set the latest trend and fashion among the younger generation. The third and last use of the Internet is as an effective means of education. With the use of the Internet, users can access vast collections of academic and professional books, journals, magazines and newspapers, which are credible and relevant materials in obtaining education. In addition, the Internet also provides online research websites that provide the same volume of useful information and knowledge. With this, students and anyone who yearns and thirsts for knowledge would have the opportunity to access and obtain information with the click of their mouse. Thus, its use is most functional and beneficial in obtaining relevant information regarding different subject matters and topics.             However, despite the advantages of using the Internet is the presence of disadvantages. One of them is the fact that the use of the Internet may lead to committing crimes. Crimes can also be committed using the Internet, and this includes computer hacking. It has been reported 26% of cyber crime start in the United States, and followed by China with 24% (). Many cyber crimes are committed by students to prove that they can do it, while many do the same criminal acts for the millions of dollars they can generate through extortion. The common forms of computer and Internet hacking is through a virus, and through spying incidents (). With these, it can be understood that the confidential information being kept by companies can be accessed by unauthorized individuals. These cyber crimes must therefore be prevented to uphold the essence of secrecy and rightful protection deserved by individuals and companies. Another disadvantage of using the Internet is through pornography. Children and adults alike can easily access pornographic sites, which could help pollute their minds, and become the sources of crimes in the society, such as rape, murder, sexual harassment and many others. The free access to these websites influences many individuals to commit crimes in the society, thus, contribute to the chaos, discord, and disorder in the community. The third and last disadvantage of using the Internet is through cyber bullying. Cyber bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as emails, mobile phones, pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal websites, and defamatory online personal polling websites to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group of individuals that is intended to harm others (qtd. in  and ). This becomes one of the crises of students, parents and teachers, for many individuals use the Internet and other forms of technologies to hurt others through power and control. It has been reported that of 91% of kids with the age range of 12 to 15 years old and 16 to 18 years olds who use the Internet, 1,566 students from grades four to eight have been found to experience bullying online (qtd. in  and ). From this, it can be understood that the use of the Internet does not only present positive effects, but negative effects as well. With this information at hand, the effects of cyber culture in relation to education in the United States must be evaluated.   3. Research Methodology             3.1 Research Design and Data Collection Method             The research paper uses a descriptive research method, for this method is cheap and quick. It uses observations and surveys, and with the use of this method, it is possible that the study would obtain the needed sources and data. Nonetheless, this method is very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. This descriptive type of research utilizes observations in the study. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the causes of particular phenomena. The researcher opts to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.             To come up with pertinent findings and to provide credible recommendations, this study utilizes two sources of research, namely, primary and secondary. Primary research data was obtained through a survey-questionnaire. The survey-questionnaire was distributed to teachers and students who have complete access to the Internet. The researcher has designed a questionnaire for the purpose of examining the views of teachers and students on cyber culture and its advantages and disadvantages to the learning process. The survey-questionnaire used a mixture of closed and open-ended questions. A closed question is one that has pre-coded answers, which is the simplest way in order to obtain objective answers from respondents. In addition, they will be used in the survey because the answers are easy to analyze and are straightforward as target respondents may not have ample time and attention in answering surveys. However, open-ended questions were also used to provide respondents subjective answers and in expressing their views regarding the topic.             The questionnaire consisted of mainly three parts. The first part has categorical questions to obtain the personal information of the respondents. The second part has questions pertaining to their views and opinions on cyber culture and the use of the Internet as an effective means of education, and the last part would include a number of open-ended questions for the purpose of a short interview. A 5-point Likert Scale was used in the second part of the questionnaire for the ease of answering. In support of such data gathered, the research has used secondary data from printed sources, such as academic and professional journal articles, books and magazines, to have a strong foundation of the whole study.               3.2 Sampling Methods             A simple random sampling was used for this study, which would give all respondents in the population an equal chance of being included in the study (. ), on the consideration and knowledge that all respondents in the population have complete access to the Internet. The sample was randomly selected and a survey-questionnaire was used to measure the theoretical constructs in relation to the effects of the Internet as a means of education in the United States. A 5-poing scale with end points like “strongly agree”, “strongly disagree”, “agree”, “disagree”, and “uncertain” was used to measure the items. On the scale, number 1 indicates the strongly positive response and number 5 indicates the opposite extreme.             The equivalent weights for the answers will be: Range                         Interpretation             5                                  Strongly Disagree             4                                  Disagree             3                                  Uncertain             2                                  Agree             1                                  Strongly Agree             The research study considered teachers and students from a specific K-6th school. The students are active members of a particular cyber society, and have complete access to the Internet. On the other hand, the teachers also have 100% access to the Internet. The proposed sampling frame for the study includes 30 teachers and 50 students. However, due to unavoidable and uncontrollable circumstances, only 20 teachers and 30 students were able to participate in the research study. The total sampling size was then used to represent the whole population.   4. Findings and Results of the Research Study             As mentioned, the primary data used in this research study was obtained through a questionnaire, which aims to identify how cyber culture changes the school community in the United States. The respondents of the research study include 20 teachers and 30 students from a specific K-6th school. A total of fifty respondents were considered in this research study. Several aspects from the questionnaire were considered for the analysis of the results, which are believed to emphasize the purpose of this research study.             From the data obtained, fourteen teacher respondents were female, while six teacher respondents were male. On the other hand, fourteen student respondents were also female, while sixteen student respondents were male. (Refer to Appendix A.)             Another aspect that must be given emphasis is the view of the teacher and student respondents on the concept of cyber culture, being an effective means of creating a better learning environment. Majority of the teacher respondents believed agreed with the fact that cyber culture helps in the creation of a better learning environment, while 6 teacher respondents answered that they strongly agree. Three among the 20 teacher respondents disagreed with the statement, while only 1 strongly disagreed. Among the teacher respondents, only two were uncertain regarding the matter. On the part of the students, majority of them strongly agreed with the fact that cyber culture helps in the creation of a better learning environment, while 9 agreed. Two student respondents disagreed and two more strongly disagreed. Three student respondents were uncertain regarding the matter. This data is shown in the table below (Table 1). Table 1. Table showing the view of teacher and student respondents on cyber culture being a means of creating a better learning environment     Teachers Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree   Total 6 8 2 3 1 20 Students 14 9 3 2 2 30               From the table, it can be seen that majority of the teacher and student respondents agree with the perception that cyber culture helps create a better learning environment. Among the teacher respondents, fourteen agreed, while only four disagreed with the statement. Among the student respondents, a total of twenty-three agreed, while only four answered otherwise. This observation is illustrated in the figure below (Figure 1). Figure 1. Chart illustrating the subtotal of agreed and disagreed responses of teacher and student respondents               In determining the factors of how cyber culture changes the school community in the United States, the advantages of cyber culture and the use of the Internet must be identified. Among the perceived advantages of cyber culture and the Internet, three aspects got equal responses and importance from respondents, namely, the improvement of research skills, more sources or links, and the improvement of communication. Five teacher respondents agreed upon each of the three aspects. Among the aspects, three teacher respondents perceived the improvement of computer skills. Only one teacher respondent perceived the advantage of independence, and only one teacher respondent perceived cyber culture and the use of the Internet as a preparation for the future. On the other hand, seven student respondents believed that the primary advantage of cyber culture is the availability of more sources and links. Similar with the responses of teacher respondents, three aspects, namely, the improvement of research skills, improvement of computer skills, and better communication had equal responses from student respondents, having five respondents each. Four student respondents perceived that independence would be a primary advantage, while two student respondents perceived it as a good preparation for the future, and two also believed that its use would contribute to lessening the expenses spent on books and other reading materials.             In addition, the data stating the disadvantage of cyber culture were also determined. Five teacher respondents perceived the additional training and costs as the primary disadvantage. Two items, namely no supervision and the access to inappropriate sites got equal responses, having three teacher respondents each. Similarly, incorrect information, crimes, and the decrease in group activities got equal responses, having two respondents each. Items, namely, the malfunction of equipments and programs, additional space and room, and the neglect for books and other reading materials got equal student responses, having 1 respondent each. In relation to student responses, six students perceived the decrease in group activities as a primary disadvantage, while two items, namely the access to inappropriate sites and the malfunction of equipments and programs got equal responses, having 5 respondents each. Similarly, crimes, incorrect information, and the neglect for books and other reading materials got four respondents each. Two student respondents each perceived that too much independence and crimes are the primary advantage, while the additional training and costs, and no supervision got one respondent each. The data regarding the advantages and disadvantages of cyber culture is shown in Appendix B.             Another aspect that must be given emphasis in determining how cyber culture changes the school community is knowing whether the respondents have a negative or positive perception with the use of the Internet. From the data gathered, fourteen teacher respondents and nineteen student respondents gave positive responses. On the contrary, six teacher respondents and eleven student respondents answered otherwise. This data is shown in the figure below (Figure 3). Figure 2. Chart showing the positive and negative responses of teacher and student respondents   5. Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations             5.1 Discussion of Results and Findings             The results obtained from the collaboration of the data gathered through the questionnaire presents significant outcomes in relation to the objectives of the study. The primary goal of this research study is to identify how cyber culture changes the school community in the United States, which plays an important role in the development of education.             From the results, it can be understood that the gender of the teacher and student respondents does not affect the use of the Internet in academic institutions, for primarily, all of the respondents have complete access to the World Wide Web, and second, the respondents are the ones who understand using the Internet to their advantage. Majority of the teacher respondents were female, while majority of the student respondents were male. However, this data does not indicate that more female teachers perceived the use of the Internet compared to male teachers, and that more male students are Internet users than female students. This data just proves to show that both genders and professions perceive the concept of cyber culture and utilize the Internet.             The results of the questionnaire indicate that the determined factors related to cyber culture, which contribute to the change in the school communities of the United States include a number of its advantages and disadvantages that were identified. These advantages and disadvantages affect and change the school communities in the United States. Advantages include the improvement of research skills, the improvement of computer skills, independence, as a preparation for the future, availability of more sources and links, and the improvement of communication. These advantages are related to the perceived use of the Internet, which include communication, education and entertainment. In this light, the advantages from the data emphasize the use of the Internet as means of communication and education. Thus, the results further support the fact that the use of the Internet improves communication and education. This perception of the respondents supports another observation, which is related to the increase in the sales of personal computers and the use of the Internet in the United States. It has been reported that the sales of IBM reached $159.9 million from $75.6 million the previous year (). Similarly, Hewlett-Packard also saw an increase in sales of 81% to $80.2 million, from $44.3 million the previous year (). In addition, Dell Computer’s Linux server increased in sales for 66%, with sales of $77.1 million, from $46.4 million the previous year (). Moreover, Sun Microsystems also increased its sales from $912,000 to $1.3 million (). Furthermore, this increase in server sales led to the observed increase of the broadband Internet in the United States, which grew 1.09 percentage points to 80.16% in February 2007, compared to 79.03% in January in the same year (). In addition, in the same month of February, 93.61% of US workers are perceived to connected to the Internet via broadband ( ), which include the use of the WEB GIS or geographic information systems () and the satellite, and not including the percentage of students using the Internet via broadband. From this data, it can be seen that the perceived advantages of cyber culture may have contributed to the significant increase of computer and Internet usage in the United States. However, along with the advantages of cyber culture and the use of the Internet are its disadvantages. These include the additional training and costs, the lack of supervision, the access to inappropriate sites, the malfunction of equipments and programs, incorrect information, the neglect for books and other reading materials, the decrease in class and group activities, and crimes, such as hacking, bullying and pornography. These disadvantages contribute to the changes in the learning development and attitudes of the students, including their teachers and parents. The United States is a nation with more than 15,000 school districts (), and from which cyber culture and the use of the Internet are given emphasis. With this large number of schools in the United States, it is already a given fact that most of the students and teachers in these academic institutions have access to the Internet. From this, the effects of cyber culture to the learning and attitudes of students can be pointed out. In terms of learning, the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture enable the students to have faster retrieval and storage of relevant and needed information to be used in the studies. They would be able to locate more sources to support or negate their knowledge, thus, enhancing the sharpness of their memory. Additional sources would include visual and audio files, which supplements their reading and learning. Another change that can be observed is the better hand-and-eye coordination of the students, which they could use in other practical applications. The development of a cyber culture and the use of the Internet can also boost their creativity and resourcefulness, especially in terms of research. Thus, these perceived changes present positive effects in the learning and the attitudes of students. However, the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture could also develop impatience, over-independence, inferiority without technology and the Internet, and even addiction. Nevertheless, despite the presence of drawbacks, the positive effects are still more dominant. On the part of the teachers, the same advantages and positive effects are also distinguished, with the addition of supplementing and improving their teaching techniques and strategies to further improve their learning and the learning of their students. With the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture, teachers and instructors would have the opportunity to gain more knowledge, thus, further enhancing their skills and critical thinking. These skills are needed to ensure that teachers would be able to distinguish reliable and relevant information available from the Internet and from cyber societies. On the part of the parents, the use of the Internet and the excessive development of cyber culture with their children may impede their quality time with one another, including spending quality time with friends. In addition, the use of the Internet may lead to addiction, with leads to the neglect of the importance of social life, cooperation, and coordination. With such, the emotional intelligence of children, and other individuals may decrease. Some students stated that their families subscribed to daily newspapers to know about social issues, and watched the local news channel at dinnertime (). This somehow serves to be a form of their bonding and quality time with one another. If everything will be done using the Internet, then some aspects including the importance of family bonding and quality time may be decreased.               5.2 Conclusions             This research study was successful in addressing its goals and objectives of determining how cyber culture was able to change the school community in the United States. Based on the number of considered respondents, the research study was able to determine that most of the student and teacher respondents perceive the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture as beneficial or advantageous, as most of them gave positive answers that negative ones. Another aspect emphasized in this study is the fact that the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture are related to its use in terms of education and communication. This is important because more importantly, the use of the Internet enhances promoting more effective and efficient communication, through the different forms of media, thus, becoming relevant and useful in terms of improving the aspect of education. Cyber culture, thus, helps students to efficiently and effectively relate to other individuals in order to obtain information and knowledge. Moreover, the use of the Internet enhances education, for the relevant information retrieved in the Internet, in relation to its use in communication, can be useful for gaining knowledge and learning. Furthermore, this research study was also able to point out that the perceived advantages in relation to the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture lead to the increase in the sales of computers and connectivity via the broadband Internet. This phenomenon contributes to the boom and increase in the Internet cafés in the United States, thus, further promoting and encouraging the use of the Internet and the development of cyber societies. However, the disadvantages of using the Internet must not be disregarded, for these may determine the changes or effects of its use to learning and attitudes of its users. From this, it can be understood that the interaction of the different factors in relation to the use of the Internet and the development of cyber culture determines the changes in the school communities of the United States. In terms of overall analysis and evaluation, this research study has been able to identify the factors that affect or change the schools in the United States, which emphasizes the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet and online education.               5.3 Recommendations             For the improvement of this research study, recommendations include the increase in the number of respondents that the study can consider. This entails more in-depth analysis and evaluation, and more time to accomplish. Another recommendation is to consider other factors from the questionnaire, aside from the discussed aspects in the study. The analysis and evaluation of other aspects may offer and provide more enlightenment and understanding of how cyber culture changes the schools in the United States. With additional aspects, this research study would be more useful and informative in the intention of future endeavors.                   Works Cited           Appendices   Appendix A. Chart showing the gender of teacher and student respondents               Appendix B. Table showing the perceived advantages and disadvantages of cyber culture and the responses of teacher and student respondents Advantages of Cyber Culture Response of Teachers Response of Students Disadvantages Response of Teachers Response of Students Improvement of research skills 5 5 Additional training and costs 5 1 Improvement of computer skills 3 5 No supervision 3 1 Independence 1 4 Access to inappropriate sites 3 5 Future preparation 1 2 Malfunction of equipments and programs 1 5 Improvement of school curriculum 0 0 Space and room 1 0 More sources and links 5 7 Incorrect information 2 4 Education for the disabled 0 0 Neglect for books and other reading materials 1 4 Efficient use of time 0 0 Decrease in group and class activities 2 6 Cut expenses spent for books, etc. 0 2 Too much independence 0 2 Better communication 5 5 Crimes (bullying, hacking, etc.) 2 2 Total 20 30 Total 20 30

STUDENTS AND THE INTERNET

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