Millions of assignments are completed and submitted every school year and with the sheer volume of young people currently in school, that’s a lot of research. With the increasing demand for accurate resources, whether studying science or ancient history, technology has responded kindly and provided students with new ways to start and complete their research in order to get the best grades for any one assignment. Here, we’re taking a look at how the internet has improved research.
Speed
Students have always had deadlines for assignments, but with the huge amount of work that these young people take on every year, fast access to reliable and accurate information is vital. Being able to simply open up a browser on the web, or even on a mobile, and simply start researching the moment a fact is needed is giving students the chance to hit the ground running with any assignment thrown their way. Checking facts, finding information and even seeking sources is a much more streamlined process without having to flick through hundreds of pages in a book to find what you’re looking for. Ctrl + F also comes in handy on a regular basis too!
Convenience
Convenience is key for a stress-free, fast and accurate assignment and with the introduction of everything from educational websites on the web, to the apps we can buy on our phone, researching has become much more convenient. Students can download an apps like TED Talks, Google Earth, National Geographic and more can provide the information they need, while writing apps like Evernote and Scrivener give them the chance to collate all of their research into one neat and tidy application for easy and convenient access while writing.
Accuracy
The internet and all of its associated applications and devices, also offer students the chance to increase their accuracy when researching. One Google search can bring up millions of results and while not every fact you read will be accurate, it’s easy to do a bit of reading around to find out which facts, dates and other useful information are actually true, and which appear to be inaccurate or just completely wrong – and all without taking out hundreds of books!
Accessibility
You’ll be hard pressed to find a student nowadays that doesn’t have access to some kind of device with an internet connection. Whether it’s their very own smartphone, laptop or tablet, or a computer in the school or university’s library, the accessibility of the internet is unrivalled. From the simple fact that anyone can get onto the internet with a connection, to developments in place to allow disabled users to better use the information available to them such as voice search, dictation and the rise in audio books, accessing valuable information has never been easier.
While there are improvements that could be made as far as the trustworthiness of a website are concerned, the internet has certainly improved the way students get hold of information. Speed, convenience, accuracy and accessibility are all important when researching and thankfully, the internet is providing us with exactly that.
