By Robyn Greenspan
"For teachers, a Web site is becoming as important as a blackboard," said Justin Kitch, CEO of Homestead Technologies, Inc. "Every teacher will have their own Web site within five years given the valuable benefits they bring to schools. Today, the Internet is used so often by students to communicate that teachers need to have a Web site if they want to engage their students through one of their favorite and most familiar mediums."
Teachers cited "communication with students" as the most popular reason for Web site building at 73 percent, and "communication with parents" followed with 51 percent. More than half (52 percent) of educators found that a classroom Web site saves them time, and 21 percent indicated that the Internet helped increase their interest in their jobs. Forty-one percent believed the site helps them meet technology standards, while more than one-quarter (27 percent) said that a classroom Web site enables them to teach about technology.
Teachers have reported distinct advantages to extending the classroom to the Internet, such as providing resources, like an online library, to the students; uploading assignments to the Web site; and building an interactive community with parents and students.
Homestead cites Britt Wallberg, a first grade teacher in Illinois, as an example of improved educational possibilities: "My classroom site allows me to connect with parents of children in my classroom. Many parents work, and are not able to come into the classroom. They can go online, see pictures of the classroom and examples of class work. They can also find out the spelling words their children need to know, our class schedule, and class procedures. I also receive many emails from parents who prefer this form of communication regarding their children."
While classroom Web sites are helpful to many students, they provide limited benefit to children without home computers, or those caught in the digital divide. Disparities between the economically disadvantaged and the more privileged could be exacerbated, setting up situations where children are less likely, instead of more likely, to learn.
As a result, many schools and public libraries provide computer labs to allow universal accessibility, but federal and state funding is needed to bridge the accessibility gap. Digital Divide Network provides resources on finding public computers, as well as information on research and funding.
The U.S. Department of Commerce addressed the digital divide in a report on how Americans are using the Internet. Based on data from a September 2001 U.S. Census Bureaus Current Population Survey of approximately 57,000 households and more than 137,000 individuals, the report found that computers in schools substantially narrows the gap in computer usage rates for children from high and low income families.
Not surprisingly, the research indicated that those with lower incomes were more likely to access the Internet at public libraries than those with higher incomes. Just over 20 percent of Internet users with household family incomes of less than $15,000 a year use public libraries. As household income rises, not only does the proportion of public library Internet users decline, but also the percentage of Internet users without alternative access points also declines.
With almost all (90 percent) of children between the ages of 5 and 17 now using computers, and 75 percent of 14-17 year olds, the Internet can become their most valuable educational tool -- as long as they have access.