NetDay survey shows integration lags behind infrastructure

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, May, 2001

NetDay's most recent survey shows that more than eight out of ten teachers (84%) believe that computers and access to the Internet improve the quality of education, and 77% of teachers agree that teachers without Internet access in the classroom are at a disadvantage. Forty-eight percent of teachers say the Internet has become an important tool for teaching over the last two years, yet half or more use the Internet at school for less than 30 minutes a day.

Sixty-seven percent of teachers believe the Internet is not well integrated into their classrooms and only 26% of them feel pressure to use it in learning activities. Most teachers do not use the Internet in daily activities such as communication with students, parents, and other teachers or for organizational activities. Only 42% of teachers use the Internet when building new lessons or engaging in classroom projects. Sixty-two percent do not update lesson plans with material found online.

Teachers in 6th through 8th grade classrooms are most likely to integrate the Internet into their teaching, and teachers in private and parochial schools integrate Internet technology more often than teachers in public schools (52% compared to 40%). Teachers using the Internet primarily see its potential as a research tool. Also, seventy-five percent of teachers say the Internet is an important tool for finding new resources to meet new standards.

NetDay's research suggests that the critical challenge ahead is to find ways to help teachers go beyond the research functions of the Internet. The key barrier to Internet use was identified as lack of time (cited by 78% of teachers). Nearly half of teachers surveyed also cited lack of equipment, speed of access or technical support. Thirty-two percent list lack of leadership from the principal or administrators, and 4% cite lack of knowledge about how to use the Internet.