Australia and Canada are large countries with small populations relative to their size, in which a not inconsiderable number of citizens live beyond major centres of population. In both resource-based economies, the provision of quality education in rural schools is an important part of the national social and economic infrastructure. This article…

In partnership with the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Vista School District, 1 of 10 districts in Newfoundland, Canada, established the Vista School District Digital Intranet (VSDDI) to deliver Web-based advanced placement courses to rural students. Advanced placement mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry courses are delivered…

Discusses the impact on rural Australian schools of recent developments in distance education, including new communication technologies, changes in the concept of Distance Education Centres, the advent of open learning ("open" college courses delivered electronically by a consortium of universities), and interinstitutional networking.…

The successful integration of information technologies in the teaching of biology and other sciences is in part dependent on the transition from closed to open teaching and learning environments. This paper outlines the transition from a closed model of schooling in rural Newfoundland and Labrador to the beginnings of an open model. Seniors in a…

Distance education can improve rural education by alleviating geographic isolation of small rural schools and increasing educational opportunities for both students and teachers. In Australia, distance education technologies include telecourses for staff development and an electronic mail and bulletin board system linking schools. (LP)

Two models for using information and communication technologies to teach physics to students in remote areas of Canada and Russia are described. In Canada, an intranet electronically links schools in a Newfoundland school district to the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Advanced placement physics is delivered via the Internet. Newfoundland has…

A great deal of experimentation with telecommunications technologies is occurring in both New Zealand and Atlantic Canadian rural schools. New Zealand has developed a National Information and Communications Technology Strategy, the objectives and initiatives of which are described. On both the North and South Islands, small rural schools have…

Because it is Internet-based, telelearning is less centralized than distance learning. Learners can access a wide range of information and attend virtual classes. Increased flexibility will lead to education for individual learners rather than classes. Teachers will have to consider technological, organizational, and pedagogical changes to move…

Mobile preschool units provide a viable solution to the problem of delivering preschool education to isolated rural New Zealanders. Advantages include delivery of bicultural education to Maori children, a low teacher-student ratio, provision of qualified teachers, and enthusiastic parent participation. Disadvantages include inadequate buildings,…

Tenth-grade students in many rural Australian schools must make decisions regarding their careers and whether they want to migrate to urban areas to complete their education. A study in a small, rural Australian community of the vocational choices of 30 10th-grade students revealed fundamental social differences between working- and middle-class…

This paper describes two pilot programs that are developing networks among rural New Zealand schools to address the educational isolation of students. A program located in the South Island consists of a consortium of six small rural high schools using distance education technology to offer an expanded curriculum to rural students. The goal of the…

In rural Australia, secondary education is often unavailable after year 10, and students are less likely to pursue tertiary education than urban counterparts. Student and family interviews suggest that career decisions are made primarily with advice from family, peers, and media, not school personnel. Reasons may be related to feelings that…