* Tustin Unified computer expert Angela SatterleeAngela...

* Tustin Unified computer expert Angela Satterlee

Angela Satterlee, a computer specialist with Tustin Unified School District, has coauthored a textbook on using the Internet, “Adventures on the Internet, a Beginner’s Guide,” with Don Busche, a dean at Saddleback College.

Satterlee, who holds a doctorate in computer science from Nova University in Florida, has served as a member of the Internet Advisory Committee for the Orange County Department of Education and is a frequent speaker at conferences on multimedia and emerging computer technology. She recently spoke with Times correspondent John Pope about present and future uses of the Internet.

Q: How are students today able to use the Internet as an educational tool?

A: One of the most popular uses is e-mail, and there are several good uses for it. We have a program where students find people with similar grade levels in other towns and states, and they’re able to compare what’s different. It broadens their horizons of what the world is like outside of where they live. We’ve also had collaborative projects between schools, such as weather studies. Another area for research is the Tel-Net, where students can log on to congressional libraries, government computers and information from all over the world. And a gold mine are the computer links in Sacramento, where you can find out what laws have been passed today and have access to primary documents. A popular place is a University of Mississippi site that has original documents from the Constitution and ones written by George Washington. It goes beyond the history books and gives viewpoints you can’t otherwise get.

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Q: Given the budget constraints of most school districts, do you think enough students have access to the Internet?

A: I don’t think schools have enough at present, but every district I know of has that as a goal and is taking steps.

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Q: Quite a bit has been written lately on the potential for abuse by young people. How widespread is the danger?

A: It’s one of those things that they’re hyping up, but there’s no more danger there than is in real life. It’s a matter of educating kids as to what’s appropriate.

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Q: What role do you see the Internet having in schools during the next 10 to 20 years?

A: In 10 years, every classroom will have access. Students will look on it as a normal research tool, just like a CD-ROM or textbook today. . . . Twenty years from now it will be so invasive it will be a part of everything we do, in education, business and trade and our personal lives. It will be a normal part of communication. When I taught for so many years, we were in the classroom and the world was the classroom walls. Now it’s expanded tremendously beyond that. It’s such an exciting thing that’s happening.