Thought I would add my little bit though totally to the other end of the spectrum of education. Not the kids but the student. On the course I’m currently studying, which is computer systems/science and networks we have some of the toughest rules on our references when writing a papers. We have to have a minimum of 2 book references and 6 internet minim under our research, after that has been reached we must try to maintain a ratio of 1:3, of book and 'net respectively. I’m about 2 year older than my peers generally, when I watch them I the library then are like a group headless chickens set loose, they seam to think that they are hunting they come into the library in packs and spend hours and hours in there, reading every book that has anything at all to do with the board subject matter. These are supposed to be academic, these are the next set of professionals that is being produced!!!!! Because of the age gap leading to a lack of maturity, with those in my year (this is manly because I’m in the first year and most of them have come from home and still are a little wet behind the ears so to speak in terms of the real world) I tend to be with the older student which tend to be in a higher year. Speaking to them is funny, there are people I regular talk to that spend less time in the library than many of the first years and there final year.

On the other hand I also see many mature student that have the reverse problem, they go into the library and work though book work with ease. You see the same mature students in the computer labs for hours and hours and they come out with very little. Many a time I have been asked to help out because they cant find the information they are looking for, they have spent hours and hours looking for it. I sit down help them out and normally within a short period of time I have found them what they are looking for.

Here seams to be a small group that seam to have both sets of skills down to an art, these tend to be the ones that are slightly older than myself. This group seams to have the library skills and have developed there ‘net skills.

Personally I feel weaker on my library skills than my ‘net skills but I still have a lot of refinement on both areas. What in trying to get at is really that both sets of skills are important. Introducing computer at a young age with our society tendency to be more and more into IT reliance is a good idea, what needs to be looked at is stopping the tendency to become depend on IT, try to get a balance on both book and the ‘net skills, starting both sets of skills at a young age will allow them as much time to develop these skills.

Kindred69