quipment maintenance, system administration, and user support, was critical in maintaining ongoing, effective use of the computer. Measures demonstrating supportive computer technology services included
Support for teachers. The extent to which Web-based activities are used in the classroom ultimately rests with the teacher, who must know how to integrate Web resources into the lesson plans. However, administrators must support the use of computer technology for it to become widespread. Effective ways administrators can support teachers include
The most critical administrative infrastructure dimensions impacting the use of computer technology in the classroom are supportive administrators whose budgeting, planning, and leadership skills are crucial to the success of integrating technology in schools. Supportive computer technology and services, including ongoing maintenance and technical support, are also essential.
Technology infrastructure refers to the physical characteristics of the WWW connection to a school. This connection can have different configurations and serve a variety of purposes, including classroom instruction. The dimensions of the technology infrastructure have a major effect on the type of instructional activities that can be performed.
Points of connectivity. A point of connectivity refers to where the WWW connection is used within a school. The two points of connectivity that affect instructional use are location of WWW connections in instructional rooms or noninstructional rooms.
Number of instructional rooms having access to the Internet. The number of rooms that have access to the Internet will affect how widespread its use will be in a school. This dimension is broken down into a sliding scale from no rooms (none) to five or more.
Type of network connection. Since the different types of media available on the WWW are expanding rapidly, the level of connectivity becomes an issue since it refers to the speed of data transfer over the connection. The types of connectivity currently available include modem, slip/PPP, 56Kb, ISDN, T1 lines, and T3 lines.
Existing plan for connection by the year 2000. One encouraging aspect of connectivity is the expanding number of states with plans for connectivity by the year 2000. Given this factor, the potential of schools is assessed against whether or not they have included connectivity in their plans, classified as included or not included.
Technical support. The level of technical support a school has is a key factor in determining how easily a school obtains and maintains connectivity. This dimension is defined by two levels -- low, which indicates low availability of technical support supplying only reactive services when a problem arises, and high, which indicates high availability and proactive system maintenance.
The consensus of the needs assessment team was that the most important technology infrastructure dimensions were points of connectivity and number of instructional rooms having access to the Internet. To increase WWW use in the classroom, points of connectivity must increase from the current 14 percent with connection to the school. The number of instructional rooms with WWW connections also needs to increase from the current 43 percent with only one room connected.
Teacher factors that impact the use of the WWW in classroom instruction include internal, personal characteristics and external characteristics related to what the teacher does. By examining internal characteristics such as attitude, skill, and knowledge, one can influence how (and if) the WWW will be used and the probability of its being used once access is obtained. External factors include classroom and teacher assignments. Seven dimensions were found that categorized the important areas related to how teachers use the WWW in the classroom.
Technical skill. Technical skill refers to the ability of the teacher to use and integrate the WWW in the classroom. Three categories were used to define this skill level: low, medium, and high.
Attitude and motivation. Attitude and motivation r