Torres High School Students Online: An Internet Literacy Profile of Public School Student in Tondo, Manila

Abstract

To address the "digital divide" in the Philippine educational system, the private and public sectors are working on providing computers and Internet access to public schools nationwide. While business and technology trends are pointing toward opportunities that Internet education will bring to developing countries, studies are not conclusively saying that giving students Internet access makes them do significantly better in school. Before these students can maximize this technology, it has first to be determined how knowledgeable they already are in it, and what gaps in the knowledge, if any, hinder their progress. Internet literacy, defined as a variant of information literacy, is the set of abilities required for individuals to use the Internet, and effectively locate, evaluate, and use the information in it. This study aimed to create a profile of the Internet literacy skills of public high school students, who have been given access to the internet by their school through a private organization. Torres High School in Tondo, Manila, an urban public high school, was randomly selected for survey administration. (Schools were pre-selected on the basis of having a computer lab that has been in operation for at least one year.) Two sections of the senior class (90 students total) were randomly selected for the survey. The profile of the "average" Torres High School senior shows that he/she is generally skilled in using the Internet and its basic services. He/she has an e-mail address, uses search engines and visits sites that cater to hobbies and interests. He/she, however, does not necessarily use the Internet for academic purposes, or properly evaluates the information retrieved. The school computer lab is not their primary Internet access point - more students claim to use Internet cafes (there is at least one on the same block as the school) or their own home connections.