Officials say the program has helped connect more than 1 million classrooms to the Internet, mostly by helping them pay for internal wiring. The money comes from fees imposed on telecommunications companies, which pass them on to customers in phone bills. States also have pumped funds into computers, telecommunications and Internet access. But critics worry momentum could wane as policy makers realize the high cost of such technology. At the same time that billions are being spent on wiring schools to the Internet, we are seeing signs that there are downsides to the Web,'' said William L. Rukeyser, coordinator of Learning in the Real World, a Woodland, Calif.-based group often critical of ballooning school technology expenditures.
Access still differs among types of schools.
Researchers say schools provide Internet access to their pupils in various ways. For example, some schools have large computer labs that give students individual time on the Internet during their school day. ''Typically what happens is that teachers tend to let kids rotate through for whatever they are doing,'' said McArthur. The survey was based on a nationally representative sample of about 1,000 public elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 1999. The margin of error is plus or minus 1 to 3 percentage points. Copyright 2000 Associated Press .