Database is a collection of information, usually organized in a

form of a table or a file in such a way that a computer program

can quickly select desired pieces of data
Example: Phone directory

Uses of internet in business and education:

    If one invention has influenced business the most over the past five
years it would arguably be the World Wide Web.  Ever since the ban
was lifted to allow businesses on the Internet, the web has grown
exponentially.  Transitions this formidable are not always so universally
welcomed.  However, business educators have always accepted that
change is a fact of life.  From the typewriter to the transistor, business
curriculum has continually shaped itself to meet the needs of business. 
As a result, the success and survival of business education constantly
depends on its ability to adapt and keep pace with the needs of its
customers.  These changes present challenges for both the learner and
instructor.  Nevertheless, it is the business educator that must be willing
to adapt and manage these challenges to ensure successful programs for
the future.  It is essential that the Internet be a useful and vital
component of the business education curriculum if business programs
across the country are to continue to meet the needs of its students.

    The basic goals of business education have not changed.  Business
education is still about preparing students for the world of business.  In
fact, it is because of this goal that business education should embrace
and use the Internet in order to meet the expectations and needs of the
next generation.  Just as in past history when significant advances
affected businesses, educators again have an opportunity to broaden and
improve their programs.  It is imperative that business curriculum
always be flexible enough to change to meet the needs of business. 
Consider this quote by an astute business education leader made at the
start of this decade:
 

 “During the 1990’s, business educators will either manage the decline
of their discipline or oversee a fundamental structural change in the
discipline.  If changes are not made in response to new economic
conditions and workplace requirements, business education will witness
an exodus of students from its programs.”
    It is this paper’s goal to show the huge impact the Internet has had on
business and to reveal some of the unusual benefits that the Internet can
provide for business education.

    Information technology.  It has been a long time since the invention
of the typewriter in 1868.  Since then, no bigger invention has made
such sweeping changes to its curriculum as the invention of the
microchip and now the Internet.  The emergence of the Information Age
has given business educators new tools and progress never before
imagined.  Society is in the midst of an age when knowledge and
information are king over steel, oil, and wheat.  To look forward and
lead others is the only option for success.  The real wealth of the future
is in information technology.  Colleges, businesses, and other
organizations are currently rethinking how to use and learn from the
tools of the information age.

    In the 1950s very few companies used computers.  In the 1970s
approximately 50,000 computers existed worldwide.  Today, over
50,000 computers are manufacture everyday .  In the past four years
information technology has been responsible for more than a third of the
United States’ economic expansion.  Consider that by the year 2002 it is
predicted that electronic commerce between businesses in the United
States alone will exceed $300 billion.  Information technology is a major
factor for business success today.  Already the high-tech industry
employs more people today than the auto industry did in its height in the
1950s.  It is the correct use of such technology that makes a company
profitable.  Everyone needs to be computer literate to use the
information and services available to them.  By using and integrating the
Internet into a business education program, students are given the skills
and knowledge to succeed in the 21st century.

    The Internet.  The Internet is the newest and fastest growing part of
the Age of Information Technology.  The inception of the Internet
actually began over 25 years ago as a United States Defense Department
project.  The Internet is now a global computer network that allows
millions of computers around the world to communicate through the
telephone system and other communication lines.  The Internet is also
referred to as the web and the Digital Information Superhighway.  It was
the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee and the
lifting of the ban on commercialization that sparked such incredible
growth of the Internet.  Two key features of the Internet are: (1) the
enormous amount of information it contains and (2) the speed at which
this information can be accessed and published.  No other single entity
has ever been so widely accepted at such a non-stop pace in history.

    The impact of the Internet is felt everywhere in society and it has
become an everyday household term.  Currently over 100 million people
in 150 countries around the world are using the Internet.  In the United
States alone the growth is staggering.  The number of Americans using
the Internet grew from fewer than 5 million in 1993 to over 62 million in
1998.  It is predicted that over one billion people may be connected to
the Internet by the year 2005.  Remember, just five years ago the
Internet was barely known.  Today there are 1.5 million new web pages
created every day, 100,000 an hour, and 100 million new users will
come on this year alone.  The web may be the fastest growing segment
of the Internet; however, e-mail is the most widely used part.  On an
average business day there are 30 times as many messages delivered by
e-mail than by the United States Postal Service.
    The Internet adds a new dimension to the curriculum that provides
students the opportunities to engage in more challenging and life-like
activities.  The potential uses of the Internet in a classroom setting are
limited only by the imagination and creativity of the students and their
teachers.  Many say the Internet has become one of the most valuable
tools for education.  Secretary of Education Richard Riley states, “The
Internet is the blackboard of the future...” and “...the future is here and
now.”   The Internet has four practical applications within the business
curriculum: as an independent subject, as a teaching assistant, as a
means of transforming the process of learning, and as a research
vehicle.  Using the Internet requires and improves upon a number of
skills including verbal, written, critical thinking, computer, and
telecommunications.  Additionally the Internet makes learning active,
exciting and fun.  To avoid being left behind, business educators should
take steps now to integrate the Internet into their curriculum.

    Because the business education curriculum is driven by standards for

and about business, teaching and using the Internet fit perfectly into the
many areas of the business curriculum.  The following twelve curricular
areas were developed by the National Standards for Business Education
(NSBE) with the financial support of the National Business Education
Association (NBEA):  Accounting, Business Law, Career Development,
Communications, Computation, Economics and Personal Finance,
Entrepreneurship, International Business, Interrelationships of Business
Education Standards, Information Systems, Management, and
Marketing.  Each of these twelve areas already have a wealth of
information on the Internet that can aide both the student and teacher of
business education.  Business teachers should be able to design, develop,
implement, and evaluate Internet activities.  The following school is a
good example of a complete integration of the Internet into a business
education curriculum.