``Could I still teach without the Internet? Of course,'' said Lee, who teaches sixth, seventh and eighth graders in a classroom equipped with 10 computers. ``Would I want to go back to teaching without it? No.''Lee exemplifies the type of non-traditional teacher who has taken to cyberspace, according to a 1999 survey conducted by Henry Jay Becker, a professor in the department of education at the University of California at Irvine.

Becker's report, Internet Use by Teachers: Conditions of Professional Use and Teacher-Directed Student Use, found that teachers who subscribe to a teaching philosophy that favours studentparticipation over lectures were more likely to use the Internet in the classroom. Indeed, about 65 per cent of those with the strongest progressive leanings considered the Internet ``essential'' to a classroom, compared to 34 per cent of teachers with the most traditional teaching styles and views. ``Teachers' basic beliefs and pedagogical practices feed into whether they use the Internet,'' Becker said, adding, ``The teachers that believe in focussing on what I call `constructivism'... are much more apt to use the Internet.''

``Constructivism'' is an approach to education that views the teacher as more a facilitator of learning than an instructor of predetermined skills and facts. Students are encouraged to take more control of their course of study than in conventional classrooms. They are also encouraged to work in teams, to tackle problems that do not necessarily have one answer and work on long-range projects.

But the so-called ``constructivist'' teaching style is hardly without critics. TomLoveless, an associate professor who teaches courses in education policy at Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government, is one. He believes the most proven and measurable way to learn is through a curriculum based on fixed content, rather than through student exploration. He also advocates what he considers tried-and-true teaching methods like memorisation and practice. And he says he fears that ``it is possible for constructivist teachers to use the Internet and simply waste kids' time''.

Becker says in his report that the Internet could eventually encounter resistance in classrooms where such traditional pedagogy holds sway. But, paradoxically, Loveless is not so sure. Despite his disagreements with constructivism, he believes the Internet has a place in classrooms because he sees it as a valuable research tool for subjects like current events and history. ``To me, the Internet will be a tool used occasionally. But it is essential. It needs to be there,'' he said.

Becker's report, perhapsthe most in-depth national look to date at the Internet and how teachers perceive and use it, is an analysis of responses to a lengthy survey last spring of 2,251 teachers, in grades four through 12. The report, funded through grants from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Education, is the first of a dozen studies Becker hopes to release this year based on the survey data and related research.Among other things, Becker found that 68 per cent of teachers surveyed said they use the Internet at least occasionally to get information for use in their lessons and 39 per cent use e-mail to communicate with teachers in other schools.

NiA introduces new programme

The National Institute of Advertising (NiA) is introducing a two-year, post-graduate diploma in marketing communications management. The programme for the 1999-2001 batch is scheduled to begin on July 10, 1999.

The two-year curriculum will give NiA students a cutting edge in the marketing communications industry. The areasin focus are business environment, business policy, human resources management, international marketing, international advertising, Internet, management economics and product management. Creative planning, event management, media planning, production technology and public relations are some of the other areas that figure in the programme.