Now she turns to the Internet for the answers. A mouse click brings up assignments for each class. Another displays photos of students in action in the classroom. The Internet is fast changing the way parents, teachers and students communicate.
Kids online can chat with classmates.
The market for tools that combine education with the Internet is expected to grow quickly over the next few years. Several companies are trying to make it easy to stay connected. Edventions Inc. sets up servers in schools that manage student data records and provide e-mail accounts to students, teachers, administrators and parents. Customized Web sites for each school include homework assignments, online lessons and newsletters. Watts, a former New York public school teacher, said gleaming computers were put in classrooms only to sit unused, the teachers afraid or unable to use them.