This is Internet On The Air, I'm Joan Silvi...the 21st century arrives in less than three years...can all U.S. classrooms be connected to the Internet by then? Details in a moment.

Funding Credit: Internet On The Air is a production of the University of Michigan School of Information and Michigan radio, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Picture a school classroom. It has desks, chairs, and a blackboard... and of course, students and a teacher. Now place a computer with Internet access in that classroom...and watch the walls disappear. Rapid technological advances and the ability to connect with anyplace in the world through the Internet, are breaking down the traditional classroom walls.

The term "classroom without walls" is a subject of debate for educators and policy makers. Congress may be helping this along by passing a law that mandates universal access to the Internet in schools and libraries by the end of the century. To comply with the act, the Federal Communications Commission recently proposed a big discount for all schools and libraries to access the Internet.

Local governments must fund the hardware, its maintenance, teacher training and any additional Internet services. Private telephone companies subsidize the discounts, but they warn that, ultimately, the individual consumer will pay the difference through higher rates.

How much will the students benefit from Internet access? Some critics question the value of classroom learning through the Internet. Others argue that the Internet is a vast resource of information which should be available to all children. For the answer, stay tuned.

For more information about the Internet and schools, see our Web page at www.si.umich.edu/iota. I'm Joan Silvi for Internet On The Air.