The internet revolution has brought with it several changes in our way of life, in particular by providing the means to obtain information quickly and efficiently.

Gone are the days when one would look in dictionaries or encyclopaedias in order to check on a word or find the details required on any subject under the sun. It is so much easier today to just type down a word in a search engine and all the relevant information is there within seconds, pictures and all.

Of course, books still retain their great importance and it would be wrong to dismiss them now that the technological age has taken over. Books should never replace the internet, but complement it. And yet at the same time one cannot help using the internet in several circumstances because it is much easier and faster.

Again, the internet must be used properly because, as with everything else, it has its downside too. Parents of young children would therefore do well to monitor their young ones as they browse the internet, and today there are several security features that can be installed to prevent minors entering “prohibited” sites.

The advent of the internet has also opened up new avenues for educating our children. Not only can they find information required at the push of a button, but several programmes exist to enable them to interact with children of the same age abroad. In so doing, they will be learning more about other countries and other cultures and this helps them widen their horizons.

One such programme is what is known as eTwinning.

According to the programme’s website, eTwinning “supports collaborative projects between at least two schools from at least two different European countries. They form a partnership and use Information Communication Technology to carry out a pedagogically relevant project”, making use of the internet to communicate.

It is open to all students – from age three to 19 – and can be carried out by two or more teachers or subject departments. It applies to member states of the European Union, and Malta has immediately taken the cue to take part. Several schools in fact have formed “partnerships” with other schools abroad and carry out joint projects through which the children at either end learn more.

This newspaper has already commented editorially that, unfortunately, the Maltese education system is based too much on the academic progression of the students and that all efforts should be made to open up the system better. It is unfortunate that many times our education system “produces” men and women who are academically strong and have several pass-marks under their belt, and yet have little general knowledge and probably also find it hard to, for example, speak in public or even write a letter to a newspaper.

Abroad, where the education system is quite different from ours, primary school children might not be able to work out fractions but they are able to face society better than our children do. Generally speaking, put a child from Italy or Norway in front of a camera and he or she does not shy away and is able to interact with the person asking the questions.

A Maltese child, on the other hand, struggles, often ending up replying “yes” or “no” or nodding their head to that effect.

Programmes such as eTwinning take Maltese children outside their normal niche. Living on an island, Maltese children need to interact more with their foreign counterparts as this will open their minds to other ways of life that are so alien to them. And this is why such programmes should be supported.

More schools should follow those that have already become involved in the eTwinning programme. It is only through such participation that our children can grow and develop into “mature” people in the real sense of the word.