Hagenberg used Netscape, a hot-shot browsing program, to call up the "Kennedy Assassination Home Page," one of thousands of locations on the Internet's fast-growing World Wide Web.

Pointing and clicking like a pro, Hagenberg brought up pictures of the "magic bullet," color diagrams of bullet trajectories, and pictures of now-missing witnesses.

So who killed JFK?

"The CIA," she said matter-of-factly, looking at a picture of Kennedy waving from his limousine to the Dallas crowd.

Why?

"He was going to dismantle the CIA and bring the troops back from Vietnam," she said.

The school maintains a full-time connection to an Internet service provider, and eventually each classroom could have four computers.

"One knock against the school has been that we're rural and isolated," said Tomales High Principal Jim Patterson. "This computer system is going to change that."

Already students can access assignments and teachers' folders through the computer system. Many students can download their own software and games from the World Wide Web.

Wiring the system started this summer, and the school went on-line Nov. 13.

Students and faculty, with the aid of Inverness resident Bob Harris, are constructing a Web site for the school that Patterson said could be on-line by mid-January.

The students echo Patterson's enthusiasm for the computers.

For instance, Hagenberg and friend Rachelle Kirkland spent time Tuesday morning scouring the Internet for information on the Ebola virus, the subject a biology class report.

The students found a pile of information, including a document written in Norwegian (They decided this was a valuable - if unintelligible - find).

Despite this setback, the students are sold on the Internet.

Hagenberg said: "Using the Internet is easier than just reading the text in the books because it's fast and you have the pictures, too."

At the computer next to them, two boys examined color pictures of great white sharks for a class project.

"It really helps," said Jarrett Battenburg. "It gives us tons of information."

Said student Erin Shaffer: "I don't think it should take over the school, but it's good that students who want to use it can use it."

English teacher and computer mentor Mark Heydon said the Internet has excited even students not normally gung-ho about learning.

"You have to fight them off with a stick," he said. "All you have to do is show them how to use it and they're off."

"As a librarian, I'm interested in it as another source of information," Schnitzer said.

She noted that students are increasingly computer savvy, and they have a strong interest in learning about computers because they "fit with the video age," she said.

"Students come in because they are interested in seeing what the computer is all about," Schnitzer continued. "Then they find out we have the Internet and they want to see what the Internet is all about."

Patrick Woodworth, who teaches creative writing, said he hopes one day to exchange stories and poems with classes all over the world.

"We can hook up with other classes, maybe even other countries," he said. "It would be great to exchange work with places like New Zealand."

While Woodworth spoke, senior Michael Murray, a member of the Santa Rosa Youth Symphony, downloaded a 20-second snippet from the new album by rock-and-roller David Bowie.

Suddenly, the raucous sound of "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" blared through two small speakers next to the computer.

"Cool," Murray said.

Which underscores the obvious: not all students are using the computer system to research US history or great white sharks.

In fact, on Tuesday morning, several students were playing games on the computer. Another was looking at the home page of the rap group Beastie Boys. Another was checking out the New York "thrash" scene.

"Right now, we want the kids to be computer-literate," he said. "We allow the kids to surf [go all over the Internet] because it allows them to see how to get from here to there. It's not the best use in the world, but they do learn how to use it."