Should Students Use the Internet while Taking Test?

In ISTE article “Points/Counterpoint: Should Students Use the Internet while Taking Test?”  We got to read about James Cash and Jeffrey Starrs two opposing views to using the Internet while testing. Cash was in favor of the Internet while Starr was not.  While I had not given this issue much thought until recently I saw valid points from both sides.

This summer I took my first online class where all of our testing was done online. Coming from a background where this never took place I found it to be very odd. How effortless it was to just reference a book or check something online before submitting an answer. I remember actually thinking to myself how much easier it would have been to got my degree if it were all done online. (Although I do not think I would have the patience to sit at my computer all day…). In Cash’s article he discussed how the Internet should be allowed and that it would lead to a higher-level of thinking. I do believe in what he is saying. When students are required to memorize dates, places, names, reasons, etc… they often get lost in all of the small details. I know what that is like, I did it plenty of times- memorize dates, places, and reasons for a war, take a test, and forget it a week later. Cash’s belief is that if we let students use the Internet they will be able to see the overall bigger picture of the lesson and effectively analyze or criticize an event.

However, Cash’s argument lost me when he went on to describe how those who do not believe that Internet should be used during testing do not trust the learner and the purpose of learning. I disagree. Especially working with children. At a young age often times children want to get things right to impress others. Yes, they want to learn but if they have the power to memorize something or look up an answer it is highly likely that they will pick to look up an answer. With the Internet giving us access to look up any and all things with the click of a button we are slowly fading into a stage of relying primarily on technology. How many people use actual maps anymore? Not many. Most just put the address in on their phone and boom they are where they want to be without even really knowing how they got there.

Starrs stated “It creates an irresistible temptation to students to merely look for the answer rather than coming up with the answers on their own.” Going forward in my career, I would love to be able to integrate technology into some testing (on iPads, computers, etc…) However, I do not think that looking up answers on the Internet will play a big role. I believe it is important that students memorize the little details about a historic event or literature book that we had to when we were young. Many of those details play apart in our daily lives without us even realizing it.