Schools Join the Net-and then what?

As in the United States, the German government has initiated a government campaign to provide Internet access to schools. The German government campaign: "Schools Join the Net" (Schulen ans Netz) has been running since 1996. Under this program, supplemented by programs of individual German states, 6500 schools so far have been equipped with networkable computers and access to the Internet. According to the latest announcements, all 44000 schools in Germany are expected to be online by the year 2003. Such initiatives are welcome, since they provide schools with an infrastructure of computer networks, and schools can decide how to use it in their teaching. But it is a waste of time and money if teachers and students fail to use this infrastructure for challenging educational purposes. The campaign provides the hardware. But how can we help the next generation to understand the social changes which are ongoing and to act as responsible citizens in the "information society"? The article addresses this question and discusses related topics.