Using the Web may cost more money than poor schools can afford, but e-mail is usually a viable first step. Brandjes stresses that training should take place in an educational context. For example, teaching pupils to use e-mail could be done in the context of communicating with other children across the globe on climatic change. We're not just promoting computer literacy, we're promoting the integration of these technologies across the curriculum. The biggest stumbling block is the lack of basic computer literacy among teachers.
Computers tend to be glorified.
Teachers often want to get involved but they don't know how or why. It takes more than a one-day training session. Teachers need to be hand-held' for a while to use the technology. The Department of Education's Centre for Education Technology and Distance Education is involved in SchoolNet SA as well as other initiatives with the government and the private sector regarding technology-enhanced learning initiatives. However, ensuring Internet access and growing the necessary skills required to use and maintain the technology pose a greater challenge.