Forty five people responded to the survey, of which nineteen were elementary teachers and seven high school teachers, a special education teacher, seven technology related teachers, two media center directors, a gifted teacher, a bilingual teacher, a Physical Education teacher, a reading specialist, two computer paraprofessionals, one school board member, and two university professors.
The respondents represent twenty-one states in the U.S.A. Two of the respondents were from Australia, one from Austria, and one from Canada. The survey is given in Appendix A, and a list of the respondents names, their positions, and location in Appendix B.
Throughout this survey interesting responses were found. It was comforting to know that 82% had access to the Internet, 13% had limited access, and only 5% did not have any Internet connection. Those that responded that they had limited access, patiently await for the next school term to start to be able to use the Internet. Unfortunately, the majority of those who use the Internet have limited access or slow connections. Therefore, restricting their ability to function. Some individual responses are given in Table 1.
| Cheryl | Yes, they use WWW from the connection at school. |
| Sabra | This year my students watched WWW and e-mail demonstrated on a tv screen, but did not have personal access. They are second grade Spanish speakers |
| Ann | No, at this point we only have one located in our LMC and the service provider is very slow and most of the time the students get frustrated, not to mention me |
| Jamundse | We use WWW and engines. I try to stay away from e-mail because the sheer volume of responses often overwhelms even high school researchers-- not to mention my disk space |
| Ellen | Only on a limited basis at the moment. They have text based access to a subset of the WWW at any time they can get on. Usually this is at school as few have modems and compters at home. True WWW access is only available when I use my account at the moment. As a government project we are supposed to have access by the end of this year for all students at school. With 1300 students and one computer this could be interesting |
| Sharon | My students use the WWW and search engines. We have a BBS that our students use to communicate via e-mail within our district. |
| Sue | I won't be able to answer your questionnaire as my "old" school did not have enough access to www to make it feasible to use with students and my "new" school-- which will be the most technologically advanced in the Boulder Valley School District, is still being built. However-- when we do move in, which will be in two months or so, I do expect to have my kids using the computer garden daily and using the internet daily. However, this will be my first experience using it so I don't have any data for you at this time. |
| Jack, | Yes --WWW & search engines especially. Hope to get at least the 5th grade e-mail accounts this year. |
| Steve | For the most part our student use the WWW and search engines. On our home page we have set up certain locations which the teachers are going to use with the students and the students can access those sites. Our fifth and sixth graders have done searches. The teachers have used e-mail to a limited degree with the students, but we haven't done any key pals. |
| Beverly | My school is not hooked up to the internet as of yet. I have an internet connection that I use: WWW, e-mail. Some students are on the neighboring local BBS and use e-mail. |
| Julie | Yes, but we have limited computer use...there is *one* line and *one* modem in the entire bldg. (for 400 kids). That means the use is infrequent. The modem is located in the library, and the librarian will help kids when the teachers send them down to look for info. |
| Katherine | the students used the Web last year mostly for email, I used it for tons of stuff-teacher contacts, information for class, and email and class projects. I do use a listserv for projects also. |
| Tim, | They just started last February. We were waiting for some usage guidance from the school district so it was used sparingly with a lot of supervision. This school year should be the real starting point. |
| Nancy | Yes- grades 3-5 use www, search engines, and will have email accounts starting in september. |
| Melinda | Only once in a while have students in our building used the Internet. I am a library/media paraprofessional and currently our only Internet connection is on one computer in the library. |
| Susan | Yes, we have one comuter on-line in each classroom and the students are learning along with the teachers how to best use the Internet. They like the WWW and in some classes they do searches, but in most they use a pre-set list of book marks and just go where the teachers plans. Only the teachers have email addresses and they are beginning to join a few listservs. The students send messages on the teacher's account when they have key pals or need to reply to a posting. |
| Toledo | We have started using e-mail on a limited basis. I hope to do more next year. We have also used the WWW but we only have one computer connected. |
When the participants were asked if their students found the Internet resources exciting for them to use, the overwhelming (95%) responded "yes, absolutely." Only 5% responded with "N/A." 40 out of 45, or 88% thought that the Internet resources would continue to hold the students interest. As Ms. Jamundse responded "most definitely, YES. Sure-- they think they're really on the cutting edge of whatever it is they think they're on. Net resources have lots of bells and whistles to keep them interested-- after all, this is a visual generation."Some individual responses are given in Table II.
| Cheryl | Most of the students would spend quite a bit of time searching, browsing, and just having fun. A few are intimated but most think this tool is "cool" and has great information |
| Sabra | Very much, even when in demo mode. This year I plan to structure internet research assignments for the kids and to turn them loose. |
| Ellen | They do enjoy the graphics based system more. Some students were most impressed when we collected articles from a newspaper archive to help in an assignment they were doing |
| Sarah | They seem to love it! |
| Sharon | My students love searching on the Internet. They are absorbed in what they find along the way. Two of my students have their own pages on the net and are into writing HTML |
| Coleen | yes, I think they are very exciting |
| Lynelle | Yes, some of them do. They also need some reason to use it. |
| Heather | Other than that, the students only get exposure if a individual teacher shows them. |
| Jack, | Some do. The kids really are attracted to the sports sites, especilly NBA, MTV, and FOX. But when they need to do research I try to do the leg work first so they have good solid starting places. Then when they find good useable stuff quickly and easily, they get excited. |
| Ken | For most students, yes. Some are fascinated. For others it isn't fast or action packed enough. |
| Steve | It really depends on the site, the interest of the student and the amount of time they have to use the computer. |
| Michael | we use the internet regularly (daily) the novelty has worn off but the students still use it as a primary source of info |
| Gordon | When I have introduced internet to my students they don't show a lot of enthusiasm at this point. |
| Carla | Yes, the children do enjoy using the internet. We just never seem to have enough time. It is like an endless book. |
| Julie | for sure....they can't get enough of it. |
| Sandra | My class loves to use the internet. |
| Nancy | I find that thing don't move fast enough for some students (not enough like a video game). Students most motivated to do the research, find the answers to their questions, are the ones patient enough to use the internet. |
| Melinda | Yes, Internet resources are exciting. I am in an elementary building, and so for many young children, the concept of the Internet is not always fully understood. I have found that students' interest is held better if there are plenty of graphics! |
| Susan | Yes, that is one of the best things about the Internet, it motivates students to read and write on topics they might not be motivated to do in another format. They seem to be fascinated by the fact that they are traveling to another place to get information and like the idea of sending messages and questions. |
| Janett | Students who are exposed to using the internet at home and at school seem to be more interested in it. |
| Toledo | Absolutely. Students can't seem to get enough. |
| Fifth | Absolutely: more so when they have hands-on access (ie., in a networked, rather than a single-modem dial-up environment) rather than a demo/discussion environment. |
There was quite variety of responses concerning whether or not students were curious enough to look for additional information with the use of the Internet. 54% responded that the students looked for additional information, while 16% said usually, but it also was a requirement." 21% of the responses were not applicable and 9% of the cases uses the library as a combination of the information provided from the Internet. As Ms. Julie said "by all means. Often the students'll go to the public library, which provides three computers for Internet use." Following are individual comments in Table III.
| Cheryl | Some of them think the Internet has all the answers for everything. I usually make a judgment call as to whether they get to search for their topics. Some topics already have enough information in the library so we don't need Internet to answer their questions. Since I only have one connection, I can use that as a reason to justify use of non-use. |
| Kevin | yes Once you start surfing, you don't want to quit |
| Mary | Yes, they have used more traditional means of research, but they have to be prompted to do so |
| Jamundse | Ultimately, "exposure" leads to plain old work-- a report, a panel discussion, an essay. What my students tend to want are "magic bullets" that will somehow relieve them of the work. Unfortunately (luckily), the net has not been able to do this---YET |
| Ellen | Limited access is the problem. One of my students now has access at home courtesy of her father's account but I will have to wait until next week to see her again and find out what she has been doing during our two week holiday. |
| Sharon | Sometimes they are so curious that they get lost in their discoveries and forget what they were originally looking for when they started. |
| Jack, | I don't know if I understand the question. Usually when they have found good usable info, they consider themselves done. But often they use the library as well as the internet. |
| Ken | With a little prodding. Typical students don't feel the need for a variety of resources unless encouraged. |
| Steve | Yes, they usually want a book on the material. |
| Michael | they treat is like any other resource except they can access more recent data and cross references |
| Beverly | Those that I have showed internet resources to have been curious to look other things up. |
| Sandra | Some are and some aren't. Depends on the children and the class |
| Susan | t the upper grades (4,5) the students do some additional searching, but usually they have a set plan. Use is structured and supervised. The teachers also give them more than they could read in a limited time, so more resources are not required. |
| Janett | It depends on the student and on whether they are looking for obscure information or not. |
| Toledo | Sometimes, students are now beginning to see the computer as the most up to date reference resource |
The researcher was pleasantly surprised to learn that 7 out 45 of the responders, or 16% of their students began to experience the use of the Internet in kindergarten. 47% began using them in grade school. The rest changes according to the grade of the teacher. Elementary teachers mostly used the Internet to show students their work and some home pages, for some e-mail exchanges, and to participate in WWW projects. For the upper levels, more deeper research was involved. Some personal responses are provided in Table IV.
| Cheryl | We have 9-12 grades. However, I have put my 11 year old son on Internet at home and Fermilab and shown him how to search, for fun and for information. |
| Jamundse | I think it varies from school to school, so I really don't know. But I do have some opinions on the subject. I teach in a high school and feel that until students are proficient readers they would do well to concentrate on that. So I guess I'd say grade 4 at the very earliest. Even after that, I don't think I'd (as a classroom teacher) allow students to "surf" independently. Surfers tend to waste a lot of time (for which somebody is paying) and could just as well do that at home. I would carefully PREpare and PREview all projects, directing students to specific web sites and guiding inquiry very carefully. |
| Ellen | At the moment I am only aware of students in Year 12. I don't know about many of our younger students as I don't see them. I believe some had a bit of experience in primary school but we haven't really gone into backgrounds etc. as yet. |
| Heather | In our district, the students begin to get monitored access in 6th grade. |
| Richard | Grade 3, but we are in the process of lowering that to Kg. |
| Jack | Second grade. And they are excited. Reading is essential to internet use, which is why I hav not used it before grade 2. |
| Ken | We have our 2nd and 3rd graders checking out some sites designed for young kids, such as Elroy's. |
| Carla | Kindergarten in library. Classroom begins in fourth |
| Katherine | Last year the 1st graders used the Web to view the work on our home page only. I had a 1st grade page and they wanted to see their work. |
| Sandra | I feel that kindergarten through 2nd can be involved. There are some really simple projects they can do, using the teacher as the facilitator and the children for the information. By third grade then, they can actually do some simple hands on type things. They are also under supervision, but they are prepping for 4-6. |
| Susan | We use the email features and resources in kindergarten. Our first graders begin to use resources. |
| Toledo | I try to show students internet resources by 4th grade. |
When asked if students of certain ability levels benefit more that other, the majority (89% ) of the respondents said that all students benefited, but in different level according to the ability or reading proficiency. 11% were unable to make a valid judgement. The students seems to benefit according to interest. However, as Mr. Kevin states "the kids benefiting the most are the ones that do not have a computer or internet connection at home." Table V, shows some of the comments from the participants.
| Cheryl | I've had all levels of students on Internet. Some of the gifted or brighter students have questions that sometimes can only be answered by Internet. We don't have the resources to answer all questions (in print). |
| Kevin | the kids benefiting the most are the ones that do not have a computer or internet connection at home. |
| Ann | I think that all students benefit from this resource. |
| Mary | The Internet must be used according to the student needs, therefore it meets the ability level of the individual student. |
| Jamundse | I think that all students benefit from access to technology, including the net |
| Ellen | From my own experience students who are willing to explore with a set purpose do better than those who just play around |
| Sharon | My class is a magnet class of highly gifted multi age (fourth and fifth) students. However, kids in the regular fifth grade are benefitting from the Internet as well. |
| Lynelle | I feel that brighter kids get more from discovering information. All the children love e-mailing and making friends. |
| Heather | My students of all abilities have benefitted greatly. As they say, it is like having the world's biggest and "funnest" library at your fingertips |
| Lilesn | Above average students seem to have more sustained interest. However, all students seem to benefit from this additional learning tool. No experience to date with bilingual, but seems probable that helpful resources would be available. |
| Richard | They all seem to benefit, it does seem to encourage the lower ability student. |
| Jack, | No. I don't think so. The upper ability kids have a slight advantage but all benefit. As far as interest goes, it's the girls that are usually less interested and/or give up easily. |
| Ken | The upper level kids are the ones with the attention span and the curiosity to sit there and get the most out of it. We use our computers and different software for reading readiness, reading support and remediation and incorporate some multi-lingual software for our ESL students. |
| Steve | No, it depends on the interests of the students and what they choose to research or what topic they have been given. |
| Carla | perhaps upper and average benefit a little more; however all students do in some way |
| Julie | The teacher for the gifted children makes a great deal of use of the internet when she can, and those children definitely profit. I don't know about others...we have very few bilingual children in our school; the "lower" kids don't use internet on the whole, although they might be paired with someone else in the class to do some research. |
| Sandra | Upper benefit more because they can do independent work on the internet. All levels benefit. |
| Ryeneck | depending on need, everybody benefits (if more information is a benefit). |
| Susan | I find the minority students are fascinated by the Net, but all levels of ability seem to enjoy the different approach to research and communications. Many of the students are more focused on learning when they have access to a computer. |
| Toledo | All student ability types seem to be enthusiastic in finding all the information that is accessible to thm. |
| Fifth | Since our computer-based curriculum ties in to classroom/grade level/subject area, and since the explicitly stated function of our computer technologies program and teachers is to support this, then all children benefit from the use of these technologies. |
| Deb | I've taught summer school Internet class to 2nd-6th graders, and the older kids definitely got more out of it. The ability level didn't seem to matter, but the maturity level sure did! Kids need to be able to "think in categories" and read the material on web sites. |
The exciting part of the survey was learning that 44%, 20 out of 45, of the participants have done, or had participated in Unternet school projects. 37% or 12 out of the 45, are excited about the next school year, in which, they will have the opportunity to interact with others. Only a minority(19%), do not know when their schools will have proper connection to the Internet. Table VI, describes how educators are using the internet.
| Cheryl | Some of the science teachers have projects that use Internet. Last year I also worked with business teachers, an agriculture teacher, and some English teachers. Most of them were not "engaged learning" formal projects like your class at Fermilab. Many of the students were in small groups or one on one. This is mostly due to the fact that I'm not in a regular classroom setting. |
| Sabra | I am the only teacher who has connected a phone line, and am using my personal Internet account. As I learn, I will engage in projects with NASA, or TENET, or whomever, and will show other teachers who will be unable to resist this new dimension of literacy which I the internet |
| Ann | I posted a newspaper project in the classroom with use of the Net. Our projects are posted through Fermi Lab Linc Program Fall of 95. |
| Ellen | Not really. We are waiting for the link to be supplied. I am hoping my students in year 11 will be involved in the design of our home page etc but that will be in the next 10 weeks. |
| Sharon | We just finished an oral history project which we published. We will be starting a regions study this fall. |
| Heather | Starting in the fall of 1996, my class will be participating in the Travel Buddies project. |
| Richard | Yes, Home page, Email between schools, Reearch, Science |
| George | yes- chickscope |
| Jack, | Not at the moment, but we will have some this year. And that is a promise. |
| Ken | We are a CU-SeeMe school, with some telecommunications going. Also, we are working on becoming a sister school with a school in the Republic of Georgia where we will use both e-mail and www. We've had some classes following things like the iditerod and things like that. |
| Steve | School begins again August 19th and at that time our teachers will be taking a class in Using Internet in the Classroom which they will actively find web sites to support the curriculum. |
| Michael | about half of our science projects 9-11 publish on the web. Many of our classes regularly use the web. |
| Carla | Our school district has a home page, several classroom teachers do also. |
| Gordon | Completed two projects this year. One was during our study of a local river system and the other was a continuous story. |
| Aweitzer | Search for classrooms that are studying the same topic. Also we send e-mail to other schools. |
| Julie | Gifted kids have made a home page. |
| Katherine | At this time, no. Last year I did several projects with 3 different schools. This year we hope to get more classes involved. I am not the computer teacher so I only have access to the kids in my room. The Computer teacher is a little behind in her learning so hopefully this year she will get more involved with the Internet. |
| Sandra | My class does several projects every year. I've been in servicing some of the teachers this summer so that they may also get involved in some projects this coming year. |
| Nancy | In September we will be working on making pages that specifically deal with Washington State History. |
| Melinda | Not currently. I hope to add to our Web page in the fall, and I also hope to help a couple of classrooms establish some WWW projects next year. Ryeneck there is a teacher training course and individual teachers have their own projects |
| Susan | We are just beginning for the fall. (July 29 is our first day.) No projects are posted at the present time, but we did complete a few large ones last year. I am sure that within a week or so postings will be going out and teachers will be planning for the year |
| Klemens | creating and improving our home page and some Austrian projects |
| Janett | We were involved in Chickscope Project done at the U of I. |
| Toledo | We do have a student sponsored web-pag that is currently being developed. |
| Fifth | Our district has had several projects during the past school year. You can access our schools and you can then investigate any of our district buildings from there. If all the buildings are not immediately available, we will be by early September, when we are back to work. |