Mail and news are easily transferred over phone lines and can be transmitted only at night when phone rates are low. The distribution and storage of news is much more efficient than that of electronic mailing lists. With news groups, only one copy of a letter, or post is transmitted and stored per computer, rather than per person. K12 schools can often get a news feed from a local college, university or business for the price of making a few phone calls to the right people. Once a feed is found, all that is needed is a computer, modem and some software, most of which can be had for free.
Several states have programs that offer free access to schools and teachers.
They will also give limited news and mail feeds to schools, allowing students to have their own accounts. Support for Teachers Networking, like all technologies, takes a while for teacher training and brainstorming before anything really useful can come from it. One of the immediate and lasting benefits, however, is that it allows teachers to communicate with others. This is especially valuable to teachers in remote areas or small schools who have no colleges with their particular goals. Even teachers in large schools in heavily populated areas often lack time at school to talk to other teachers about problems and projects.