Students throughout the Lansing area have more access to computers in school and are becoming more computer savvy as part of a nationwide trend, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Mark Mayes, spokesman for the Lansing School District, said there is one computer for every 10 students, while Kevin Green, spokesman for the East Lansing Public School District, said there is one computer for every 3.7 students.

“We do the best we can with what we have,” Mayes said. “We’ve been helped out every year, but it’s a challenge every year to keep up.”

Mayes said a bond sold last year by the Lansing School District gave every teacher their own computer. Computer labs are available to students.

Students in the district are introduced to computers at a young age and become more accustomed to them as they get older, Mayes said.

“Even in elementary school we’re trying to get kids familiar with keyboarding and writing simple, shorter papers, so they’ll get more sophisticated as they get into middle and high school,” he said.

Green said students in the East Lansing School District also have computers readily available to them.

“Every classroom has at least one computer, and some have more than one,” he said. “We also have computer labs that entire classes can utilize.”

The census data also shows a high use of Internet and e-mail by Americans.

Green said research and high-tech math and science programs were the main use of computers for students in the East Lansing School District, but e-mail was also used as a learning tool for students and teachers.

“There are programs in which students do communicate via e-mail,” he said. “We have a partnership with a school in South Africa that students correspond with on a regular basis, and teachers share educational materials, plans and papers.”

Patrick Dickson, professor in the College of Education, said students of many different ages are becoming more computer literate, and schools and universities alike are taking a step in the right direction by providing computer access for their students.

“It’s clear that in many, many schools, teachers know kids have access to the Internet at home,” he said. “The trick now is to get schools and universities caught up to where students are.”

Dickson said many students haven’t realized the many things they can do with computer and Internet access. Instead, many use computers for entertainment purposes, such as compact disc burning, instant messaging and surfing the Web.

“Most people have not realized how popular it can be for educational purposes,” he said. “It’s becoming essentially integrated into the way teaching and learning is done.”

Although computer use and Internet access has increased steadily across the U.S., eventually the trend will slow down as the majority of Americans purchase computers, said U.S. Census Bureau analyst Eric Newburger, author of “Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000.”

“The growth will slow down, it has to, because so many people are having them at this point,” he said.