The role of the Internet in the primary school classroom:

Computer related technology is increasingly used in§society today, and has influenced in various ways on§classrooms across the world. In New South Wales,§Australia, there has been an increasing emphasis on§teaching using information and communication§technology (ICT), and in particular the Internet.§This study has investigated how the Internet was used§to support teaching and learning in primary school§classrooms. Case study methodology was used for the§study to provide an in-depth view of how some§teachers have integrated the use of the Internet into§their classroom teaching and learning activities.§Data for this study were collected from four public§primary schools in New South Wales, during one ten§week school term. The study found that while all of§the teachers used the Internet to some degree to§support teaching and learning activities in the§classroom this was done in various ways and with§varying success. In particular, ICT infrastructure,§access, and use varied between classes and schools.§Also of importance were the pedagogical aspects of§integrating Internet technology into the classroom§teaching program.