The internet has become a vital educational resource for <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America’s youth.  A Pew Internet and American Life Project Study reports that 94 percent of online youth say they use the internet for school research, 71 percent of online teenagers cited the internet as the source they relied on the most in completing projects and 78 percent claim the internet helps them with school work.

Stuck on a homework assignment?  Now students are using the internet to get in touch with teachers and other students after school hours in order to get help on school assignments. Thirty-four percent of online youth report downloading an online study aids such as Cliffnotes or Sparknotes.

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Parents see the internet as a good educational resource for students with 87 percent of parents saying that the internet is helpful with schoolwork. Fifty-five percent of parents believe the internet has been a good thing for their children and 55 percent of parents go as far as saying how to use the internet is essential for children to learn in order to be successful.

With this easy access to information comes at the price of easy access to materials that help students cheat on assignments as well.  Eighteen percent of online teenagers report they have known someone who has used the internet to cheat on a test or a paper.

So what does this mean?  The internet is becoming a huge part of learning environments both inside and outside of the classroom.