Rural schools make up 28% of all schools in the United States, serving over 9 million students (NCES, 2018; Thomas, 2023). Addressing the unique cost drivers, service gaps, and funding disparities between rural and nonrural districts is crucial to ensuring equitable learning opportunities for all students. Rural school districts in the U.S. face…

Rural schools are present in nearly every nation across the globe, and they face some unique challenges in their mission to educator students living in remote areas. Within this article, a definition of the geographic and population characteristics that define rural schools is offered, as is an examination of contemporary issues impacting the…

One of the major influences on university education in Ontario is the growing use of Internet technologies. These new technologies have led faculty and learning experts at universities to talk about online and technology-enhanced learning with a fervour not often found on most campuses. Among other things, these discussions have challenged…

Network learning supported by 21-century technology is reweaving the fabric of how educators acquire and create new knowledge. At the Alaska Educational Innovations Network (AEIN), educators believe this has the potential to change how a profession looks at professional development. They have learned that using technology to support networks…

This paper examines one of the traditional technologies of distance education, radio, and presents examples of educational and community radio usage in Asia and Africa. Instead of merely transposing western approaches to distance education in developing countries, it is suggested that the developed world can learn from uses of radio in developing…

This paper studies the relationship between geographic remoteness and the quality of primary education in rural Northern India. It then discusses this relationship in the context of educational technology. There is a significant negative correlation between the quality of education and the distance of a school from the nearest urban centre. No…

With teacher shortages in both general and critical needs areas and constricting operating budgets, it is important for Colleges of Education to develop methods of providing alternative certification programs to reach larger segments of the population. One method of increasing the scope of potential preservice teachers is through the development…

Describes the partial conversion of Iceland's three-year teacher certification course into distance education mode. The social context and rationale of the project and the conditions and experience of participants in the initial phase of this pilot project are discussed. Technological and pedagogical concerns and program prospects are mentioned.…

This is the story of Barbara Shoemaker and her work as an Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) Teacher Partner in Oneida, Tennessee. It is the story of what she values and the experiences that shaped her approach to education. In particular it is about what she learned from her experience with the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, and…

Many of the people who live in Knott County today are direct descendants of the early settlers of the region. Today the people of Knott County share an identity that is grounded in the place they and their ancestors called home. Perhaps the public endeavor in which the influence of place is most evident is education. In Knott County education has…