The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study

Overview

"The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study" demonstrates that students with online access perform better. The study, conducted by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), an independent research and development organization, and sponsored by the Scholastic Network and Council of the Great City Schools, isolates the impact of online use and measures its effect on student learning in the classroom. The study compared the work of 500 students in fourth-grade and sixth-grade classes in 7 urban school districts (Chicago, Dayton, Detroit, Memphis, Miami, Oakland, and Washington DC) - half with online access and half without.

The results show significantly higher scores on measurements of information management, communication, and presentation of ideas for experimental groups with online access than for control groups with no online access. It offers evidence that using Scholastic Network and the Internet can help students become independent, critical thinkers, able to find information, organize and evaluate it, and then effectively express their new knowledge and ideas in compelling ways.