ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

 

I would like to thank all the administrators and faculty who took the time to complete and return the survey. Because of their assistance, this paper is possible.

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

 

The Impact of Internet Usage on Private Schools in Southeastern United States

by

Douglas M. Bergman

 

 

 

The purpose of this study was to assess the usage and impact of the Internet in private schools in the southeastern United States. A thorough review of the literature revealed that there are more questions than answers about incorporating the Internet into the classroom. A lack of information, especially in the private school sector, was very apparent.

            The survey was conducted by randomly selecting thirty schools in the southeastern United States (SC, NC, GA, VA, FL, AL) from The Handbook of Private Schools (1998).  From these thirty schools, fourteen (14) returned surveys, of which thirteen (13) schools returned completed surveys and one responded that they have no technology at all at their school). Over half of these returned surveys included handwritten comments and opinions in addition to the questions asked, thus showing a strong desire to learn about, and contribute to, a new body of knowledge.

            Results of the survey revealed that a surprisingly high percentage of teachers are already actively using the Internet in their classrooms with support from the administration. While many had deep concerns for some of the negative aspects of the Internet, such as the cost involved and the vast amounts of inappropriate materials so easily accessible, most were very eager to learn more about how to use it effectively in the classroom. Almost all teachers saw the need to make the necessary efforts to ?connect? schools to the Internet. There were no major usage differences among male and female teachers or by region, but there were differences as results were broken down by age, years of experience, and degree (of teachers). A significant percentage of responding teachers used the Internet for self-learning in their discipline and an overwhelming majority felt that Internet skills were as important as the core curriculum skills of math, science, and English. All Internet using teachers saw improvements in class participation and most saw improvements in enthusiasm, energy level, and motivation. Research and analysis of survey data showed that administrators, students, and teachers were very interested in incorporating the Internet into the academic set of skills that students study.  Though training was lacking, teachers were interested in learning more about it and learning how to incorporate it into the classes. Most teachers reported schools administrators to be very supportive of teachers' efforts to learn the Internet and experiment with it in class. 

This paper, though focused on one small aspect of the educational system,

makes apparent the need for a much more thorough, nationwide study of the usage and impact of the Internet at all levels and in all types of education.