At the same time, use of computers to teach basic skills continues to be the dominant practice in elementary schools and is increasing in high schools. ILSs, then, represent a small niche in the educational applications of computers, but given their funding from programs for disadvantaged students, they represent a significant use of technology for this group. Modems and Networks Networks are systems that connect two or more computers to each other. These computers can be at distant sites, allowing students or teachers to communicate with peers or with each other districtwide, statewide, nationally, or even internationally. Networks can also be local.
Networks represent an area ripe for rapid growth.
Modems allow for communication between computers at remote sites. Many teachers use Internet, a system developed by the National Science Foundation to connect universities, government, and research centers. In 1990 only a small minority of schools had both LANs and access to wide area networks. Even when they did, the computers on the LAN were seldom connected to the WAN, and hence the networks were not being used to provide large numbers of students with data and communication from the outside world. Despite lots of talk about telecommunications tearing down the school walls, neither the basic technology infrastructure nor the understanding of how best to capitalize on it is common at present.