The early part of the 21st century has seen a tremendous surge in internet use among children, regardless of age, income, or ethnicity, according to a study unveiled March 19 by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). But in spite of this technological evolution, the digital divide lingers and—in some cases—is getting worse, experts warned.

The report, called "Connected to the Future," states that 65 percent of American children ages two through 17 now use the internet from school, home, or some other location. That represents a 59-percent growth rate since 2000, when only 41 percent of children were logging online from similar places.

Despite marked increases in technology access, the study raises a number of red flags that educators and other stakeholders should be aware of, said report author Peter Grunwald, of the independent research firm Grunwald Associates

"If we are not there already, we are moving at breakneck speed to a time when logging onto the internet is as fundamental to daily functioning as making a telephone call," the study said. What's troubling, however, is that many schools still are not equipped to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum.

In schools—where internet use by African-American children ages two through 17 exploded from 12 percent in 2000 to 31 percent in 2002 and where access for low-income children ballooned by 60 percent over the same two-year period—69 percent of all students still say the computer lab is the place where online learning occurs most frequently, the study found.

In fact, at a time when policy makers, educators, and labor authorities nationwide have said that technology skills need to become as much a part of students' educational repertoires as reading, writing, and arithmetic, less than one-third of all students say they use technology in the classroom.

"If the vast majority of children are using the internet primarily in computer labs, then it's not unreasonable to suppose that internet-based learning may still be on the periphery of the curriculum," the study said.

Educators agree: The integration of technology into the curriculum presents an ongoing challenge.

"We are working on making access more available in the classroom, but many teachers separate the use of technology to a time of the day or week as opposed to it being one of the learning tools, like a book or piece of paper, in the classroom," said Marc Liebman, superintendent of the Marysville Joint Unified School District in California. "We have a long way to go and a lot of mindsets to change before we will be successful at fully integrating technology and the internet into everyday instruction."

But if the relationship between technology and the curriculum is still too weak, technology does excel as a research tool, the study showed. According to the report, almost half of the children surveyed said they use the internet in school libraries or media centers for research purposes.