Teacher-student communication no longer ends when the afternoon school bell rings.

        E-mail, list-serves, virtual classrooms and chat rooms can mean 24/7 communication — just hit the send button.

        Click on a Web page to check an assignment.

        E-mail the teacher with a question.

        The increased access brings more convenience and opportunity for learning. But it should also bring increased awareness of proper use of technology, experts say.

        When a schoolteacher was indicted last month in Hamilton County for e-mailing sexual material to several students, the red flag went up for parents and educators. Such computer crimes involving teachers and students are rare here, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen, but as more people go online, they may increase.

        The computer is just one more tool for people who are sexual predators, Mr. Allen and school officials agree. To stop them, teachers, students and parents need to be educated on appropriate computer use.

        “You have those incidents without the computer and networking,” said Jenny Moormeier, director of technology for Lebanon schools in Warren County. “Clearly districts have to have this kind of access, but you have to have policies and procedures that deal with that.”

        The backdrop is a soaring use of computers:

        • Internet access in U.S. public schools increased from 35 percent in 1994 to 95 percent in 1999, according to the Software and Information Industry Association.

        • Access to the Internet in U.S. homes has increased from 14.9 million households in 1995 to 46.5 million today. It is projected to grow to 90 million in five years. Kids who don't have computers at home can access the Internet at libraries or school computer labs.

        Lebanon, like many schools, has taken steps to educate staff and students about acceptable computer use.

        Fort Thomas Independent Schools have made constant communication with parents a priority. All teachers have e-mail. Each school has its own Web page that includes calendars and district news.

        At Campbell County Schools, teachers have e-mail and they collect e-mail addresses from parents at the beginning of each year.

        Relying on telephones is difficult, said Linda Smith, Campbell County district's technology director, because parents work and teachers only have a limited time during the day to make calls.

        Some districts, such as Little Miami, Mason, and some individual schools, including North Avondale Montessori and Eastwood Elementary, list teachers' e-mail addresses online for everyone to access.

        Lakota East junior Andrea Reeves, 17, said she thinks teachers and students should e-mail each other more often. She said she thinks it's a good way to communicate — whether it's about schoolwork or personal problems.

        Lebanon High School teacher Nicole French uses e-mail to communicate with her computer lab students while she's away for training, she said.

        Kings Junior High teacher and High School basketball coach Brent Allen said his students use e-mail to send him presentations. Some of the ballplayers use e-mail to message him about being late for a practice, he said.

        “It makes our jobs a lot easier,” he said.

        Last year, some kids sent him jokes via e-mail, he said. He's comfortable with that because a team of teachers talks over acceptable computer use with all students, he said. Kings Local school district also has an “acceptable use” policy for staff, said spokeswoman Linda Oda.

        Not all teachers are comfortable with the technology. Richard McCarren, a computer math lab teacher at Kings Junior High, said he does not feel comfortable e-mailing students unless parents know.

        “I can see talking to kids on the phone, but this is a lot more personal,” he said. Mr. McCarren said keeping professional distance between students and teachers is important.

        Education professors are encouraging aspiring teachers to send mass e-mails to parents and students and to create Web pages, to put homework on-line, as well as use e-mail to answer students' questions, said David Moffett, assistant professor of education at the College of Mount St. Joseph.

        “Any school that doesn't convert to this will be left behind,” Mr. Moffett said. The idea is to grow more efficient and to have teachers prepare their students for a world where technology will be required in the work force, he said.

        Even with the computer-use policies, Prosecutor Allen said parents have to watch over how their children use the computer.

        Michelle Hutcherson, a parent in the Boone County school system, said she monitors her 7-year-old son's e-mail to teachers at New Haven Elementary.

        “I know what he's e-mailing,” she said. “We're always in the room or in the next room.”

        But she probably will monitor Josh's e-mails — and the e-mails he receives — more when he's older, she said.

        Beth Scavone, a parent in the Kings Local, said she would be comfortable with teachers e-mailing her 11- and 14-year-old sons; however, they have never e-mailed teachers, she said.

        “At this point, I'm not too concerned, but I keep a close eye on who my children are e-mailing,” she said.

        Like Ms. Hutcherson, Ms. Scavone said she is generally in the room with her children when they're e-mailing and she'll continue to watch over them.

        But what about when kids are not at home or they're at the library? There's always access, Kings spokeswoman Ms. Oda said.

        “Ninety-nine percent of the time, you're going to be OK. But e-mail just gives a different venue. I don't think it's any different than when teachers pick up the phone.

        “Basically we hire professionals (as teachers),” she said, “and we expect them to use things appropriately.”

       Staff writer Lori Hayes contributed to this report.

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