www.projectview.org

In this day and time everyone is connected to the internet. Even my nine year old has certain sites she visits daily and she also has homework on the computer a couple of times a week. I am on the computer often writing blogs, checking email and surfing the Internet for news and information. Children who have always been “plugged in” are going to have technological skills like we can only dream of. Computers are second nature to these fortunate children.
With these skills that are not second nature to us parents, we have to ask about deficits in learning that may occur with this new set of skills. Will our children be well rounded? Can they absorb all the important information if they are allowed to use the computer too often?

It is to be expected that since children are on the computer from an early age, much of their learning has shifted to the computer. In order to make sure children are prevented from accessing material that could damage them psychologically, parents would want to have firewalls and filters to make sure a child-s innocence is maintained.
Learning online is beneficial to preschoolers because it increases their sight vocabulary and helps them get a grasp on the fact letters make sounds, sounds combine to form words, words make sentences and one day I can read that, too. Computer time engages children and helps learning become a pleasant event. This type of learning is self directed, so even if a child has trouble grasping a concept, extra problems are given for the troubling concept, re-teaching is done by the program and the computer never loses patience.
If online learning is the exclusive way a child learns a parent needs to be especially vigilant in making sure there are no gaping deficits in their child-s education. Getting a list of objectives to be covered in a grade and going over the objectives and the curriculum would be a wise move.
Otherwise children who use the computer to supplement their education will not have learning deficits in my opinion. A child will typically go to an area that interests him on the computer. Skills that are mastered will not attract the child and if the sites available to the child are primarily educational, education will continue. The most important skills learned in elementary school are reading, writing and comprehension. These skills are reinforced no matter what site the child is visiting.
Learning in the classroom would continue as normal and time spent on the computer would not detract from skills learned at school or through a homeschool curriculum.
A major criticism voiced by experts is that children who are online for long stretches of time get sucked into the short hand language of text and instant messaging. While this is a valid concern, parents must be involved enough in their children-s activities to instruct on this and insist on proper spelling in the proper context. For most children, this concern can be squelched in one-two minute conversation.
In closing, it is my opinion that computer learning is a plus in this competitive, technologically advanced world. Worrying about small details detracts from all the richness of content and skills that can be learned by our children.