More schools are integrating technology or some form of digital learning into the traditional classroom structure. These schools maintain a traditional school week on a brick-and-mortar campus and face-to-face instruction is still the predominant instructional modality. Adding educational technology tools that adapt to students’ mastery levels, allow teachers to track student progress, and support more effective classroom instruction is increasingly common as more schools move to 1:1 device initiatives. The terms technology integration, technology enhanced, and technology-rich are all used to describe these levels of tech adoption that have not yet moved to a true blended learning experience.
Published in Chapter:
Digital Learning in Rural K–12 Settings: A Survey of Challenges and Progress in the United States
Amy Valentine (Foundation for Blended and Online Learning, USA), Butch Gemin (Evergreen Education Group, USA), Lauren Vashaw (Evergreen Education Group, USA), John Watson (Evergreen Education Group, USA), Christopher Harrington (Institute for Teaching and Leading, USA), and Elizabeth LeBlanc (Institute for Teaching and Leading, USA)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 34
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-8009-6.ch005
Abstract
Discussions of rural America often summon images of pastoral farmland, country roads, and close-knit communities; this vision offers a sharp contrast to contemporary perspectives of rural America, which highlight unemployment, entrenched poverty, economic decline, and geophysical isolation. However, both narratives share one characteristic: the belief that a high-quality education can open a world of opportunities for rural children. This chapter fills an existing gap in research by documenting successful practices of digital learning to support students, teachers, and families in rural education settings. A qualitative study identified the challenges faced by rural schools and then explored the digital learning strategies used to meet these challenges. Across the country, innovative practitioners are expanding Internet access, addressing teacher shortages, and increasing course offerings, which has in turn contributed to the academic achievement and future prosperity of today's rural students.