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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots?

    Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Internet-savvy kids can do research on Google, but who's teaching them how to cull through that mass of information to separate fact from fiction?

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Internet-savvy kids can do research on Google, but who's teaching them how to cull through that mass of information to separate fact from fiction? Boosters of the digitized culture say the Age of Gatekeepers is over, that the idea of authority is being overwhelmed by the prospect of freedom. Critics say that will leave kids to fend for themselves in world full of misinformation and propaganda. We hear both sides.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots?
    1. 0:00Healthcare Bill Leads to Violence
    2. 7:34Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots?You’re reading this
    3. 43:24Pentagon Relaxes Enforcement of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Darrell Satzman

      Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sara Scribner

      Librarian, Blair International Baccalaureate School

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jeff Jarvis

      City University of New York / BuzzMachine

    • KCRW placeholder

      Natasha Lipson

      Senior, New Roads High School

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots?
    1. 0:00Healthcare Bill Leads to Violence
    2. 7:34Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots?You’re reading this
    3. 43:24Pentagon Relaxes Enforcement of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
    Back to To the Point