Telecommunications and K-12 Educators: Findings from a National Survey.

A survey was conducted to obtain a systematic profile of activities currently being undertaken by kindergarten through grade 12 educators in telecommunications technology. Based on the responses of 550 educators from 48 states, selected because of their involvement with computer technology, this survey represents the first large-scale description of educators' telecommunications practices. Benefits and obstacles to using telecommunications effectively as a professional resource and a learning tool are described; findings suggest that telecommunications serve as a valuable resource for both of these purposes for educators who responded. These educators represent a specialized group of highly educated and experienced teachers, who are knowledgeable about computer technology and who have been using a range of computer-based applications in classrooms for several years. Computer and library media specialists are generally the leaders in telecommunications practices, serving as a resource for other teachers. Most respondents are self-taught, and their responses highlight the lack of training in telecommunications for teachers. Implications of findings for improving the educational uses of telecommunications are discussed. Ten tables and 49 figures present survey findings. Appendix A is an annotated bibliography that lists 55 educational telecommunications services and regional Internet providers, and Appendix B lists the computer networks respondents used. (Contains 21 references.) (SLD)