Document Type
Issue Area Five
Abstract
The Internet has captured the imagination of both the popular media and education journals. Books dedicated solely to the Internet abound, and journals such as Internet World gain an ever increasing readership. While access to information about the Internet seems ubiquitous, educators throughout Iowa are struggling to gain Internet access so they can begin to realize its tremendous potential as touted by the media and by colleagues.
Access to the Internet for Iowa school districts depends on many factors, including: (a) leadership by local school districts and area education agencies, (b) the sheer complexity of the problem, (c) scarcity of Internet technical support for school districts, (d) inertia or indifference, (e) funding, (f) geography, and (g) the lack of communication or cooperation among agencies promoting K-12 Internet use. Geography is key for school districts primarily because of proximity (to a telecommunications or Internet nodes) and to technical expertise that can be tapped. For example, a school district such as Waterloo can better afford providing teachers America Online accounts because it will not incur any long distance phone charges. Waterloo is the site of a telecommunication node, thus all calls are local. In addition to the proximity of nodes, larger communities also have a technological talent pool often lacking in smaller communities. This talent pool can be found in colleges as well as the commercial sector.
Our issue group identified four critical issues regarding K-12 access to the Internet.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
5
Issue
3
First Page
103
Last Page
108
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1995 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Kollasch, Matthew A.
(1995)
"Issue Area Five: Access: Who Will Have Access? How Will It Be Accomplished?,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 5:
No.
3, Article 34.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol5/iss3/34
