Now anyone with an Internet account can visit, join, and take advantage of a these treasure chests, these virtual communities. In 1996, lawmakers challenged educational policy makers and the entire education community to bring the Internet into every American school. They added an incentive for planning the needed infrastructure by establishing an E-rate that would be available to all public schools based on their need. The aim is to foster the equitable distribution of resources. In addition, millions of dollars were given to each state in the country through the Technology Literacy Challenge fund to distribute to all schools to catalyze Internet use.
Some teachers have Internet access through their schools, and many more have and use it at home.
Whether or not a school is networked is not the deciding factor of whether a teacher uses the Internet. Teachers who use CD-ROMs and software such as Web Whacker or Web Buddy bring the Internet into their classrooms, even when their school is not networked. These educators find the Internet a personal and professional essential. School networking enhances and multiplies what happens when just one computer with a modem connects to an Internet service, but a school network alone does not motivate teachers to use technology. Self-directed learning stimulates teachers to use the Internet.