Are we there yet?
Online learning
Students take charge
Unevenly prepared
Bridging the digital divide
Technology decisions
Flashback to Safe & Smart
Guidelines for leaders

Full text

Acknowledgements
Research and guidelines on schools' use of the Internet
Coming soon: online learning for many students

 Technology decisionmakers — school leaders who manage, buy or coordinate technology for their districts — believe that technology will have a marked impact on traditional classroom teaching and learning in the near future.

Almost 30 percent of school leaders believe that at least one in five students soon will receive a substantial portion* of their instruction over the Internet. The most optimistic are urban and rural school leaders, with 31 percent and 30 percent, respectively, stating that that percentage of students will receive a substantial portion* of their classes via the Internet.

These findings may represent a sea change in education. District leaders see the potential for interactive, online learning to make up a substantial portion* of instructional time. As more schools move in this direction, the dynamic between teachers and students may change. With online learning, students can work independently, with customized instruction and at their own pace.

Still, schools have a long way to go before online learning is the norm. About 80 percent of district leaders report that the primary instructional use of the Internet is for research, including teachers' research for their lessons. Internet use in subject areas is primarily for history/social studies (76 percent) and science (58 percent).

Are we there yet?
Instruction in Cyberspace
28% of district leaders who say that at least one in five students soon will receive a substantial portion of their instruction via the Internet
Percentage of district leaders who say that at least one in five students soon will receive a substantial portion* of their instruction via the Internet
Source: Grunwald Associates
Instruction in cyberspace

 Percentage of district leaders who say that at least one in five students soon will receive a substantial portion* of their instruction via the Internet (28%)

What percentage of students will be receiving one-third or more of their instruction online in the next three years? Percentage of respondents
None at all to 9% 34%
10% to 20% 37%
21% to 40% 18%
41% to 60% 5%
61% to 80% 3%
81% to 100% 2%
Source: Grunwald Associates
*One-third or more of instruction in three years

How do district teachers use the Internet for instructional purposes? Percentage of respondents
Internet searches 74%
Teacher research 72%
Lesson planning 38%
Demonstrations, presentations 18%
Utilizing Internet services 10%
Student projects 8%
Student research 7%
E-mail 5%
Videoconferencing 5%
Class Web pages 4%
Student information services 3%
Other (distance learning, desktop publishing) 5%
Multiple responses permitted
Source: Grunwald Associates

What have you found to be the two most widely used subjects for instructional uses of the Internet? Percentage of respondents
Social studies/History 76%
Science 58%
Language arts 37%
Math 13%
Technical 4%
Foreign language 4%
Arts 4%
Business 4%
Health 3%
Other (library, general, current events) 3%
Multiple responses permitted
Source: Grunwald Associates



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