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1 TEACHER USE OF COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS NCES 2000C090 NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS April

2000 U.

S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement Stats in Brief Since 1994, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has documented the large increase in access to com- puters and the Internet in the nation'

s public elementary and secondary schools (U.S. Department of Education 2000). These increases have led to a need to understand the extent and types of teacher use of computers and the Internet, as well as teachers'

perceptions of their own preparedness to use these tools in their classes. To address these critical information needs, NCES commissioned a survey using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) that was conducted in the spring of 1999. The survey found that

99 percent of full-time regular public school teachers reported they had access to computers or the Internet somewhere in their schools. This Stats in Brief focuses on those teachers. How do teachers use computers and the Internet at school? Teachers were asked the degree to which they used comput- ers or the Internet to prepare for and manage their classes. Thirty-nine percent of public school teachers with access to computers or the Internet in their classroom or elsewhere indicated they used computers or the Internet a lot to create instructional materials, and

34 percent reported us- ing computers a lot for administrative record keeping (table 1). Less than

10 percent of teachers reported using computers or the Internet to access model lesson plans or to access research and best practices. Newer teachers were more likely to use computers or the Internet to accomplish various teaching objectives. Teach- ers with

9 or fewer years of teaching experience were more likely than teachers with

20 or more years of experience to report using computers or the Internet a lot to communi- cate with colleagues (30 percent with

3 or fewer years,

30 percent with

4 to

9 years, versus

19 percent with

20 or more years) and gather information for lessons (21 and

22 per- cent versus

11 percent for the same three groups). Also, teachers with

4 to

9 years of teaching experience were more likely to report they used computers or the Internet a lot to create instructional materials (47 percent) than were teach- ers with

20 or more years of experience (35 percent). Teachers'

use of computers or the Internet at school varied for some types of uses by school poverty level (the percent- age of students in the school eligible for free or reduced- price lunches). Teachers in schools with a school poverty level of less than

11 percent were more likely to use com- Table 1.―Percent of teachers indicating they use computers or the Internet a lot at school to accomplish various objectives,by school and teacher characteristics:

1999 Multi- Access Admini- Commu- Gather media research Communi- Access Create strative nicate information classroom and best cate with model School and teacher instructional record- with for planning present- practices parents or lesson characteristics materials keeping colleagues lessons ations for teaching students plans All public school teachers with access to computers or the Internet at school

39 34

23 16

8 7

7 6 Teaching experience

3 or fewer years

43 38

30 21

10 11

6 11 4C9 years

47 38

30 22

8 10

10 8 10C19 years

38 35

22 14

9 7

6 6

20 or more years

35 30