Online Use Is Growing in Schools

Our nation's schools are rapidly acquiring both computers and network infrastructures. Between 1989 and 1992, for example, schools' inventory of computers increased by nearly 50%. In addition, surveys have confirmed the increasing prevalence of the Internet and other online services in schools. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education reports that 35% of public schools have access to the Internet, and an additional 14% more have access to other wide-area networks such as CompuServe, America Online and Prodigy (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1995).

This trend has been encouraged by numerous educators and government leaders, including President Clinton. In his State of the Union speech in January 1996, the President pronounced: "Every classroom in America must be connected to the information superhighway... by the year 2000."