Teachers' use of technology increases as the Internet permeates schools.

The rapid deployment of Internet access to classrooms and the explosive growth in connecting computers to network systems were the top stories in the school technology environment during the 1998-1999 school year.

The proliferation of the Internet continues to be the most powerful

force in educational technology today, with the goal of delivering Internet access to every classroom in America by the year 2000 very possibly within reach. Ninety percent of all public schools report some level of Internet access in the school building, up from 85 percent in 1998, according to research by Market Data Retrieval (MDR). And public schools made great strides in expanding Internet access throughout their buildings in 1999, particularly to the classroom. Nearly 71 percent of public schools provided Internet access in the classroom, up from 58 percent last year. Within those schools, 75 percent of the classrooms have the Internet available to both teachers and students. Catholic and private schools have made solid progress in offering their students a chance to explore the Internet, with 80 percent of Catholic schools and 70 percent of private schools reporting access in 1999 as compared to the 64 percent and 54 percent, respectively, that reported access the prior year.

Not surprisingly, over one-half of all public schools (54 percent) reported that the majority of their teachers (50 percent or more) use the Internet for instructional purposes this year as compared to only 33 percent in 1998.

In 1999, over 870,000 additional instructional-use computers were installed in public, private, and Catholic schools, generating a total installed base of 8.9 million computers. MDR also found that 75 percent of the instructional-use computers in public schools are connected to a network, 56 percent are multimedia, and over 40 percent enable Internet access. Over 60 percent of the installed machines in public schools provide powerful computing capability with 586/Pentium or higher processors. Instructional-use computers are continuing to migrate into classrooms, with public schools reporting over half (52 percent) the installed base now located in classrooms, while 39 percent are placed in computer labs.

One measure of success in providing students with sufficient access to technology is computer intensity (i.e., student to instructional-use computer ratio). In 1999, public schools reported 5.7:1 ratio, which is an improvement over 1998's level of 6.3:1. Catholic schools reported a ratio of 7.6:1 and private schools had 6.9:1 in 1999.

Wide Area Networks (WANs) are typically the backbone for Internet access, and many states have implemented initiatives to connect their schools using this technology. As a result of these efforts, approximately 64 percent of public schools reported WAN connectivity up 47 percent from the prior year. Catholic and private schools, which are typically independent in nature, reported much lower rates of WAN access at 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Just as WANs are used to network schools and districts across a state, Local Area Networks (LANs) connect computers, peripherals, and software for shared access within a school building. Eighty-four percent of public schools indicated LAN use in 1999, while Catholic and private schools followed with 48 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

Market Data Retrieval, the education information division of Dun & Bradstreet, has been collecting data on the use of technology in schools since the early 1980s. MDR's extensive annual school technology surveys reached 108,500 public, private, and Catholic schools during the 1998-1999 school year, providing invaluable data on the state of the school technology environment as well as the key trends that impact school marketers.

For more information about Market Data Retrieval's "Technology in Education 1999" report, visit MDR on the World Wide Web at www.schooldata.com or call 1.800.333.8802.

In the 1998-1999 school year, public schools across the country spent more than $5.5 billion on technology. Yet, are teachers prepared to use these powerful tools to improve student learning as we move into the new millennium?

A new report by MDR found that less than 40 percent of all teachers surveyed feel "very well prepared" or "well prepared" to integrate that technology into their classrooms. MDR's "New Teachers and Technology" report points to lack of training as the key factor contributing to teacher discomfort with technology and suggests some concrete steps that school districts should take.

* Teacher colleges are not doing their part in educating future teachers in integrating technology into the classroom. Even though an estimated 40 percent of teachers will retire or leave the profession by 2004, only slightly more than one third of the new teachers reported that their college experience left them "very well prepared" or "well prepared" to integrate technology into classroom instruction. The majority of new teachers (61.9 percent) indicated that only one to two of their college courses included instruction on how to use technology to teach.

* Few school districts and accrediting organizations are requiring technology proficiency. The majority of new teachers recalled that technology proficiency was not required to obtain teaching certification (67.3 percent) or their first teaching position (82.9 percent).

* Teachers who report having had at least 11 hours of technology training in the past 12 months are more comfortable using it in the classroom. A majority of those teachers (53.5 percent) said they feel either "very well prepared" or "well prepared" to integrate technology into their classrooms. Yet less than 20 percent of teachers reported receiving more than 10 hours of technology training and 23 percent report getting no training. Surprisingly, new teachers receive less technology training (5.9 hours) than experienced teachers (7.3 hours).