The Internet is a network of millions of computers worldwide, connected together. It is an elaborate source of education, information, entertainment, and communication. Recently, President Bill Clinton expressed an idea to put the Internet into every classroom in America by the year 2000[4]. Considering the magnitude of this problem, and the costs involved, it is not realistically possible to set this as a goal.The Internet allows the almost five million computers [1] and countless users of the system to collaborate easily and quickly either in pairs or in groups. Users are able to access people and information, distribute information, and experiment with new technologies and services. ...view middle of the document...
This provides a high quality permanent Internet connection at all times. Most leased lines are provided by a telephone company, a cable television company, or a private network provider and cost $200 per month or more. The typical connection from a LAN or group of LANs to the Internet is a digital leased line with a Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit (CSU/DSU), which costs between $600 and $1000.When budgeting for a school's Internet connection there are a number of factors to consider that might not seem immediately obvious. Technical support and training will incur additional ongoing costs, even if those costs show up only as an individual's time spent. Equipment will need to be maintained and upgraded as time passes, and even when all teachers have received basic Internet training, they will most likely have questions as they explore and learn more on their own. A general rule for budget planning is this: for every dollar you spend on hardware and software, plan to spend three dollars to support the technology and those using it[2].There are approximately 81,000 public schools in America. Within these schools, there are about 46.6 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade[3]. Considering an average of about 50 classrooms per school, at an average cost of $1,000 ...
