America's elementary and secondary school teachers do not feel well-prepared to use technology in the classroom, a new study cited in the New York Times suggests.

The study, conducted by Market Data Retrieval, is based on the responses of 1,547 teachers to a questionnaire mailed in April. The questionnaire surveyed how well teachers felt they were prepared to bring technology into classroom instruction.

The survey found that 61 percent of respondents said they felt "somewhat" or "not at all" prepared to use technology in the classroom. Thirty-nine percent described themselves as "well-prepared", the Times reports.

Surprisingly, age made little difference in the level of preparedness, the Times reports. Newer teachers (with an average age of 28) and older teachers (average age of 39) recorded only a 2 percent difference in level of preparedness.

U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley has started a campaign to persuade business to help solve this problem, the San Jose (Cal.) Mercury News reports. On top of announcing $135 million in federal grants to help train teachers, Riley has urged Silicon Valley business leaders to take part in the effort.

Aside from helping supply schools with technology, businesses need to give "time and resources" to prepare teachers to use that technology, Riley told business and education leaders at a meeting in San Jose. "Teachers are crying out for that help," he said.

Riley said the nation will need 2.2 million new teachers over the next 10 years, a figure that indicates the need for businesses to get involved in technology training, the Mercury News reports.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/
cyber/education/08education.html
or
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth
/docs/riley082699.htm