LAST AUGUST, the Pew Internet and American Life Project released a study titled Digital Disconnect: The Widening Gap Between Internet-Savvy and Their Schools.1 The Pew study prompted ZDNet News to release a Reuters story with the headline Schools Get an 'F' in Tech Use.2 While this news may be disheartening, the story does warrant wide dissemination and considered discussion. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) was commissioned by Pew to conduct this qualitative study of the attitudes and behaviors of Internet-using in middle and high schools across the country. The study is based on information drawn from 14 focus groups in 36 different schools, along with 200 voluntarily submitted online essays written by students. According to Pew surveys, about 78% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet. (This figure seems high to me since have seen other reports with numbers closer to 60%.) teen survey . . . suggests that perhaps 30% to 40% of teenagers fall into [the] Internet-savvy category. This represents a large and growing cohort of technologically elite students (p. 4). Twelve of the Pew focus groups consisted of Internet-savvy students, and two of the groups consisted of light Internet users. In summarizing the findings, AIR used five metaphors that describe how children use and think about the Internet. As with most qualitative research, the original report is filled with dense descriptions, and urge Kappan readers to read and ponder the study in its entirety. Metaphor 1. The Internet as virtual textbook and reference library. Students think of the Internet as the place to find primary and secondary source material for their reports, presentations, and projects. This is perhaps the most commonly employed (p. 6). As one of the put it: Our science and history textbooks are at least a decade old, while most school projects require up-to-date, reliable information relevant to the new century. . . . Our textbooks are no longer the pillar, the heart of our education. On the contrary, they are a laughable supplement, most of the time ignored. It is time to accept the new brainchild of the printed word. The Internet has become the fastest way to find out about how exactly the Titanic sank . . . , what kind of jewelry the people of ancient Indus Valley wore . . . , or what exactly an anesthesiologist's day is like. . . . (p. 8) Metaphor 2. The Internet as virtual tutor and study shortcut. Students think of the Internet as one way to receive instruction about material they are interested in or about which they are or unclear (p. 6). Here is the view of one student: I really try hard to get good grades in school, but sometimes it's hard. Especially when it comes to homework. But heard about a Web site, think the address is www.about.com. Anyway, it helps you with homework that normally gets you confused (p. 11). Sure enough, the site is about.com, and if you haven't checked out the immense collection of offered there to help kids with schoolwork, you should. looked at the science section and was amazed. The links are embedded quite a few levels down in the directories, but keep looking. You'll find them. Another aspect of this metaphor has to do with online help, and here another student weighs in: I've two teachers in the school who are online all the time, and they're available . . . the fact that they're available for any small questions that might have, that just helps open up additional resources (p. 11). Metaphor 3. The Internet as virtual study group. This metaphor is aptly summed up by the following student comment: So it's not just the paradigm where the Internet is the library. It's not the library, it's a chat room. . . . You talk with people from somewhere else, compare notes, or whatever (p. 11). Metaphor 4. The Internet as virtual guidance counselor. …