Rural Matters

You can help make sure that your views on educational technology--and the views of others in your community and school--are heard in an influential national survey.

The fourth annual NetDay SpeakUP survey is underway and will be open through the end of November.

The survey, which includes sections for students and teachers, is used to inform policy makers and education interests about the attitudes and opinions of students and educators toward technology. This year's survey also includes a section for parents.

Registration for the survey is free and easy.

By participating, you can help make sure the perspectives of rural educators and students are included in this important survey. In addition, each school will receive a report on the survey results from their own school, which can be used in local efforts to improve access to and use of technology for educational purposes.

You can find out more about NetDay, the non-profit organization that sponsors the survey here, and you can sign your school up to participate in the survey here.

Posted by Robin Lambert at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that the filing window for e-rate applications will open November 14 and run until February 7.

The federal eRate program provides discounts for certain technology and technology services to schools and libraries.

The FCC has also released its annual Eligible Services List (ESL). Several changes have been made to the ESL this year, including the addition of voice over internet protocal (VoIP) services. VoIP enables users to place and connect calls over the internet, rather than traditional phone lines. The FCC also clarified several rules, including when technology training is eligible for funding through the program and rules related to wireless networks.

You can find more information about eRate and this year's programs, forms, and instructions at the Universal Service Administrative Company/Schools and LIbraries Division.

Posted by Robin Lambert at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Low-wealth school districts, especially those that are also small, often have Sophie’s choices forced upon them. They’re required to sacrifice educationally some of their students as the price for supposedly buying opportunities for others.

To be sure, lots of students fall through the cracks in all kinds of schools. And in some schools those cracks are widened into chasms by poverty, abuse, and the low expectations, disregard, and hostility that accompany the various –isms. Even as thousands of educators and parents and communities and students struggle daily against the circumstance and bad policy that opened the chasms, we haven’t summoned the collective will or wisdom to address the underlying causes.

This is a challenging mix for schools. Add to it insufficient funding, prescriptive curriculum requirements, and policies like minimum school or district enrollment and small, low-wealth districts are forced to make deliberate choices that harm kids.

Here’s how it tends to work; districts are increasingly required to offer a range of classes, usually advanced ones, so those kids who want to go to college have the “advantages” of kids in wealthy districts with lots of curriculum options. When small under-funded districts don’t have the resources to offer all those classes, the “solution” forced on them is to close them and send their students long distances to larger schools in other communities.

One of the problems with this fix is that it in order to see that a few kids get calculus or a third year of foreign language or journalism, for example, a few more kids don’t go to school any more at all, and a few more don’t take any challenging classes. A so-called solution for some kids is a disaster for others.

Continue reading "College Board Could Help or Harm Rural Students" »

Posted by Robin Lambert at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Power and the Promise.

Distance learning is here to stay. Its future appears to be unsure only in its direction or extent of growth. This paper focuses on the applicability and potential of two-way interactive television (I-TV) for small and rural K-12 schools as a primary asset in improving educational access and equity and calls for the adoption of enlightened distance learning policies and guidelines at the state and local levels. Appendices include: (1) Characteristics of Major Distance Learning Technologies; (2) Types of Distance Learning Technologies; and (3) a Categorization of State Videoconferencing Policies. The Appendices are followed by a glossary of technical terms and list of references.

Posted by Robin Lambert at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)