Daniel Sieberg: Study shows 'digital disconnect' at school

CNN's Daniel Sieberg

(CNN) -- A "digital disconnect" between teachers and students is preventing kids from maximizing the educational value of the Internet for classroom work, according to a new study.

Most of the students surveyed by the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported "poor and uninspiring" Internet-based assignments and said they lacked specific guidance on how to use the Internet outside of school for their homework. Some students also said they faced too many restrictions -- such as filtering and lab availability -- to easily access the Internet while at school.

The study found that as students become increasingly Net-savvy, they are already using the Internet as a virtual study buddy for such things as:

CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg about the report and charges that schools are falling behind the technology curve.

COOPER: What are these kids saying is the problem with their schools?

SIEBERG: This study was conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and they actually had a number of different focus groups, with students about ages 12-17. And what they found is these students were reporting increasing frustration with the fact that not enough Internet-based assignments are being given to them, not enough specific instructions on how to use the Internet once they leave the classroom. They are calling it a "digital disconnect."

So, in a sense, these kids are more familiar with what's out there on the Internet, but they're worried or concerned they're not getting guidance from their teachers.

COOPER: And do we think that's just because of that old digital disconnect that you talk about or the digital divide as people have called it? Is it that the teachers don't know the Internet and the computer as well as the kids do?

SIEBERG: That's certainly a part of it. The students that they talked to said a lot of teachers they have weren't familiar with the Internet. They didn't know some of the sites that were out there, and some of the kids were suggesting where they might need to go.

The kids did say there were some roadblocks in the way, even when they're at school, some things that could potentially be changed just while they're at school. This included the quality of access, whether they can get into a lab for some availability to use a computer. They know that schools are being wired. In fact, a lot of these kids say: look, we know we have to use the Internet, we can't imagine not using it for homework, but where do we go on some of these sites?

Beyond that, there were a number of other different roadblocks that they talked about, beyond quality of access. Whether it was filtering and blocking, which some schools do, (and the kids are saying, look, trust us, we just need to get to some of this information), or the whole idea of the digital divide, which is whether all kids at home have the same access they would have at school. Some teachers, the students were saying, actually decided not to give out an assignment because they were concerned all kids wouldn't have access to the Internet at home.

COOPER: If anything, it's unlikely schools will filter less. If anything, it seems like schools will be filtering more.

SIEBERG: Right, and that certainly has been an issue for the past little while, about whether kids are going to be going through more filters while they're at school, whether this will be mandated in order for schools to get funding from the federal government. So that's certainly going to be an issue for a while to come.