As schools obtain Internet access, what challenges remain for educators?

The increased availability of Internet opportunities will enable teachers and administrators to employ the technology in many different ways, including record keeping, communicating with parents, distance learning, professional development, curriculum development, and as a classroom teaching tool. To realize such uses of telecommunications, educators face a variety of challenges in addition to acquiring linkages. Such challenges include providing technical support for networks, hardware, and software; ensuring teachers and administrators have the time for and access to staff development for technology integration; increasing the effective use of the Internet to enhance student learning; and protecting students from inappropriate material on the Internet. As schools install additional Internet linkages, administrators will also be working to obtain connections that are faster, have wider bandwidth, and are more reliable than traditional modems.