Technology for Rural Schools
Technology for Rural Schools
There is now widespread recognition that rural development in the 21st century will be closely tied to the effective use of new and emerging information technologies. Within the educational context, these new technologies can also offer unique solutions to persistent problems in declining enrollments, limited course offerings, limited Advanced Placement opportunities, and data collection
The links listed below provide a glimpse of the extant research on technological solutions for rural districts.
Breaking the Fall - Cushioning the Impact of Rural Declining Enrollment
Lorna Jimerson, Ed.D (2006)
This report highlights the role that state educational policies have in either magnifying the challenges of declining enrollment, or conversely, mitigating them. The report contains 20 policy recommendations, primarily focused on state funding formulas.
The McREL Rural Technology Initiative: Research and Evaluation Study
Patricia A. Lauer, Kirsten L. Stoutemyer, & Rebecca J. Van Buhler (2005)
This study investigated McREL’s Rural Technology Initiative (RTI), an online professional development intervention that provides opportunities for teacher collaboration while delivering training to teachers and administrators on instructional improvement, including the use of technology for teaching and learning.
Net Choices, Net Gains: Supplementing High School Curriculum with Online Courses (PDF)
Julie Z. Aronson & Mike J. Timms (2004)
All secondary school students deserve a wide array of high-quality courses. Yet many schools, especially smaller, rural and resource-poor urban schools, can offer little more than a basic curriculum. For their students, these limited offerings can translate into a limited future.
Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act: Implications for Rural Schools and Districts (PDF)
Cynthia Reeves (2003)
This article discusses the needs of rural schools as posed by NCLB. Specifically, technology issues center on providing interactive technology via broadband, attracting good teachers and training them to effectively incorporate technology into instruction.
Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace: Taking the Lead on e-Learning Policy (PDF)
National Association of State Boards of Education (2001)
The primary goal of this report is to provide a sufficient context so that education policy leaders can ask the right policy questions and take the lead on developing sound e-learning policies.
Distance Education, Taking Classes to the Students (PDF)
Timothy Collins & Sarah Dewees (2000)
The new distance learning technologies – if supported by adequate backbone capacity (bandwidth) and equal access to the telecommunications backbone by rural and urban localities – offer educational institutions the opportunity to reach into relatively isolated areas to offer high school and college students credit and noncredit courses.
Creating Technology Infrastructures in a Rural School District: A Partnership Approach (PDF)
Dennis Jensen (2000)
Rural schools face significant challenges in upgrading their technology infrastructures. Rural school districts tend to have older school buildings that have multiple problems and lack climate control, adequate space, and necessary wiring. In rural districts, it may be difficult to find the leadership and expertise needed to provide professional development, create an appropriate technology plan, and manage and maintain building and system infrastructures. This document describes how Wayne (Nebraska) Community School District overcame these difficulties through a collaboration with Wayne State College, the chamber of commerce and city council, local businesses, federal and state agencies, and the students themselves.
The Impact of Technology on Learning: Making Sense of the Research
Carol Kimble (1999)
This policy brief sorts through and draws conclusions from the various opinions found in research reports and articles on the impact of technology on student learning.
Applications of Technology in Rural School Facilities (PDF)
Dennis Jensen (1998)
Rural schools often have difficulty in developing and implementing a 21st century, K-12 technology plan. This report describes one rural school district's (Wayne, Nebraska) successful efforts at technology integration. It discusses the efforts of installing 25 networked computers in the local high school, linking buildings with fiber-optic cables, automating the middle school library, and creating a distance education program by upgrading software and hardware to link the schools to the community via the Internet. The report reveals that rural schools can succeed in integrating technology into the curriculum, but it takes a united effort combined with the rural districts' willingness to seek help from regional and state agencies.
The National Information Infrastructure: Keeping Rural Values and Purposes in Mind. ERIC Digest
Craig B. Howley & Bruce Barker (1997)
This Digest from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools examines the practical significance for rural communities of the emerging national information infrastructure, highlights some related potential pitfalls, draws some connections to rural education, and refers the reader to other sources.
Using Technology To Improve the Curriculum of Small Rural Schools. ERIC Digest
David Monk (1989)
This Digest makes the argument that the most attractive applications involve combinations of two types of technology, microcomputers and distance education technology, in ways that depart significantly from traditional thinking about the delivery of instruction and the role played by on-site (sometimes called "proximate") teachers.
