TABLE 6.9
| Percent of public schools with a Web site or Web page, 2001–02 | ||
| School characteristic | 2001 | 2002 |
| 1Data for combined schools are included in the totals and in analyses by other school characteristics but are not shown separately. | ||
| 2Percent minority enrollment was not available for 31 schools in 2001. In 2002, this information was missing for 15 schools. The weighted response rate was 98.6 percent. | ||
| 3Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch was not available for 2 schools in 2001. | ||
| Note: Percentages are based on the 99 percent of public schools with Internet access. In 2001, the questionnaire asked about the school's "web site." In 2002, the wording was changed to "web site or web page." | ||
| SOURCE: Anne Kleiner, Laurie Lewis, and Bernard Greene, "Table 14. Percent of Public Schools with a Web Site or Web Page, by School Characteristics: 2001–02," in Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2002, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, October 2003, http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/2004011/tables.asp (accessed November 22, 2004) | ||
| All public schools | 75 | 86 |
| Instructional level1 | ||
| Elementary | 73 | 85 |
| Secondary | 83 | 93 |
| School size | ||
| Less than 300 | 63 | 84 |
| 300 to 999 | 78 | 86 |
| 1,000 or more | 87 | 94 |
| Locale | ||
| City | 73 | 76 |
| Urban fringe | 79 | 91 |
| Town | 80 | 84 |
| Rural | 70 | 91 |
| Percent minority enrollment2 | ||
| Less than 6 percent | 78 | 92 |
| 6 to 20 percent | 80 | 87 |
| 21 to 49 percent | 78 | 91 |
| 50 percent or more | 65 | 76 |
| Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch3 | ||
| Less than 35 percent | 83 | 94 |
| 35 to 49 percent | 77 | 89 |
| 50 to 74 percent | 71 | 86 |
| 75 percent or more | 59 | 66 |
not very popular among college students in 2002. Roughly 6% of students surveyed had taken online courses for credit, and only half of these students believed the courses were worthwhile. Despite how undergraduates felt about distance learning, the number of people enrolled in distance learning courses offered by postsecondary (i.e., following high school) institutions nearly doubled between the 1997–98 and 2000–01 school years. (See Figure 6.2.) According to Tiffany Waits and Laurie Lewis in Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2000–2001 (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, July 2003), 3.1 million students were enrolled in distance learning classes. Of these, 2.9 million people were in college-level, credit-granting courses. As Figure 6.2 reveals, in 2000–01 public two-year institutions, such as community colleges, had the highest enrollment in distance education classes, followed by public four-year institutions, and private four-year institutions.
TABLE 6.10
| Where teens logged on, 2000 | ||
| Ever1 | Most often2 | |
| 1n = 754. | ||
| 2n = 659; teens who go online from multiple locations. | ||
| SOURCE: Amanda Lenhart, Lee Rainie, and Oliver Lewis, "Where Teens Log On," in Teenage Life Online, Pew Internet and American Life Project, June 20, 2001, http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf (accessed November 22, 2004). Used by permission of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which bears no responsibility for the interpretations presented or conclusions reached based on analysis of the data. | ||
| Home | 90% | 83% |
| School | 64% | 11% |
| A friend's house | 64% | 3% |
| Library | 36% | 1% |
| Someplace else, like work or a cyber cafe | 8% | 1% |
TABLE 6.11
| What teens did online, 2000 | ||
| Daily users | Less often | |
| SOURCE: Amanda Lenhart, Lee Rainie, and Oliver Lewis, "Teens Online Every Day Compared to Teens Online Less Often," in Teenage Life Online, Pew Internet and American Life Project, June 20, 2001, http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf (accessed November 22, 2004). Used by permission of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which bears no responsibility for the interpretations presented or conclusions reached based on analysis of the data. | ||
| Send or receive email | 99% | 87% |
| Send instant messages | 89% | 64% |
| Research products online | 74% | 60% |
| Download music | 73% | 40% |
| Listen to music online | 70% | 52% |
| Visit a chat room | 62% | 50% |
| Buy products online | 39% | 26% |
| Create a Web page | 34% | 16% |
The widespread use of the Internet and personal computers largely explains the growth in distance learning. E-mail allows for affordable, convenient day-to-day communication between teachers and students. CD-ROMs and the Internet provide the possibility for completely interactive course modules and timed tests. A full 90% of institutions surveyed in the NCES study offered Internet courses where the students could review the course material on their own timetable (in other words, not in sync with everyone else in the class). Forty-three percent of institutions offered synchronous Internet courses where all students in the class were required go on the Internet at the same time to receive instruction or take tests. Nearly a third (29%) of the schools delivered the course material to students via CD-ROM. In 2003 this growth in high-tech distance learning appeared as if it would continue. Nearly 88% of institutions said they planned on increasing or introducing Internet courses into their distance learning programs in the next three years, and 39% planned to use CD-ROMs more as well.
TABLE 6.12
| Teen Internet use compared to adult Internet use, 2000 | ||
| Teens | Adults | |
| SOURCE: Amanda Lenhart, Lee Rainie, and Oliver Lewis, "Teens' Internet Use Compared to Adults," in Teenage Life Online, Pew Internet and American Life Project, June 20, 2001, http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf (accessed November 22, 2004). Used by permission of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which bears no responsibility for the interpretations presented or conclusions reached based on analysis of the data. | ||
| Go online for fun | 84% | 63% |
| Look for info about movies or other leisure activities | 83% | 65% |
| Use instant messaging | 74% | 44% |
| Play or download games | 66% | 34% |
| Listen to music online | 59% | 40% |
| Visit a chat room | 55% | 26% |
| Download music | 53% | 29% |
| Check sports scores online | 47% | 38% |
| Some activities show a negligible difference between teens and adults: | ||
| Send or receive email | 92% | 93% |
| Get news | 68% | 66% |
| And there are some activities favored by adults: | ||
| Research a purchase or new product | 66% | 73% |
| Buy a product | 31% | 53% |
| Look for health information | 26% | 57% |
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