Whether the Internet actually enriches education is still an unanswered question, however. SchoolNet SA is currently doing a project on this in the Northern Province and Eastern Cape. Recent international research shows that teachers tend to use online communication more for their own correspondence and lesson preparation than the teaching and learning process itself. Most schools don't know how to use the technology effectively. SchoolNet SA won't equip schools unless they have burglar proofing and insurance.
Training also takes place over several days.
Many schools don't realise there are many financial issues involved, like maintaining equipment, paying telephone bills and fundraising for expansion. 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.