Conclusion

Classroom-level access to the Internet and support in the form of training and assistance appear to be important factors in instructional use of the Internet during class time. Half or less of teachers reported that all three resources were available, and of these teachers, about two-thirds indicated that they used computers or the Internet for instruction during class time. Furthermore, among teachers who reported having all of these resources, the percentage reporting instructional use of computers or the Internet during class time did not vary by the proportion of poor and minority students at these teachers’ schools. However, teachers in schools with high enrollments of poor and minority students were generally less likely to report the availability of these resources.

The rapid pace of change in the world of education technology necessitates the further collection of data. In the year after these data were collected alone, the proportion of instructional rooms with internet access in U.S. public schools rose, from 64 percent in 1999 to 77 percent in 2000 (Cattagni and Farris 2001). In addition, there is much more to be learned about teachers’ instructional use of technology. Data on digital content used in classrooms, online assessments, the quality and duration of instances of instructional use of technology, and other areas would further our ability to understand how technology is changing the nation’s classrooms. Other NCES survey programs, such as the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Assessment of Educational Progress, will be publishing more data on teachers’ use of technology in the next few years. enrollment were also more likely to have a high poverty concentration.

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