During a writing workshop twelve-year-old Julie and thirteen-year-old Alberto work together at a computer terminal. They've been surfing the web for an hour and a half, and their writing teacher, Kate Dean, is thrilled. "There really has been a noticeable change in Julie," says Dean. "A few months ago, she hardly ever spoke to the other kids in the class. She seemed so quiet and afraid of everyone, especially boys."

Quiet? Afraid of boys? Julie reaches over and grabs the mouse away from Alberto. "No," she tells him, "we won't find anything there. There's this really cool site called 'Rotten Characters.' Let's go there." After a minor debate, Julie gets her way. Watching her, it is indeed difficult to believe that anyone could consider her a shy girl suffering from low self-esteem. But Dean insists that, when she first arrived at the workshop several months ago, Julie rarely expressed herself, invariably answered questions with a shrug or an "I don't know," and avoided interactions with boys her age.

Parents and teachers well know that pre-teen girls can change personality like quicksilver, and no one can say for sure what brought on Julie's new-found confidence and sense of self. Dean believes that that the Internet has been one factor in helping Julie to express herself and to believe in what she's expressing.

"It's easy," Julie says about getting online. "I get to go wherever I want and nobody can tell me what to do. It's kind of like I'm in charge."

Educators say that, in the classroom, girls voices "disappear" because they raise their hands less frequently than boys, are called on fewer times, and - when they are called on - answer questions with less certainty. In contrast, the Internet can provide an educational environment well-suited to girls' generally less aggressive learning style and their tendency to learn more through intuitive association than direct question-and-answering. Interfacing with only a computer, girls are able to chart independent courses through tangles of information without having to fight to be heard or fear asking questions. In a way that the traditional classroom setting doesn't seem to, the Internet offers girls an outlet for choice, control, and "voice."

The benefits are clear. Julie, for example, has not only gained confidence in her ability to use computers, according to Dean, but also "she's come such a long way just in interacting with others, from what I've seen. Having a lot of success in maneuvering around online has given her a sense that she can be successful at other things, too. She's more confident."

It is true that achieving in one area often frees children up to believe that they can achieve in other areas as well. And, mastering the Internet means mastering - or at least gaining exposure to - a broad range of information. This is especially important for girls, who are prone to doubting their own authority about specific topics or deferring to a more aggressive - often male - voice of authority. "I noticed Julie speaking up a lot more once she became comfortable online," Dean says. "It seemed like she just had more to say. She'd pipe up and tell us about something interesting she'd found on-line, and seemed to enjoy showing the other kids how to get there."

It's unclear exactly how - and to what degree - ease with the Web translates practically into higher self-esteem in academic and social situations. Certainly the Internet alone will not reverse a long-prevailing trend. But, if Julie's experience is any indication - and Dean, for one, believes that it is - then girls clearly can benefit from the ripple effects of developing confidence in their online abilities.

When asked whether she thinks she has more confidence now, Julie replies simply, "Yeah." But she's not actually paying too much attention to the question. She's absorbed in what's in front of her on the computer screen. "You want to see something cool?" she asks.