In decades past, there have been several attempts to address rural education issues and the efforts to improve the learning process and performance of students in rural schools.
There has been a constant nagging need for the infrastructure of most of the rural elementary, secondary and higher institutions systems to be strengthened.
States with highest percentage of schools located in rural communities are South Dakota (76.9% of schools are located in rural communities), followed by Montana (74.9% of schools are rural); North Dakota (72.1% of schools are rural); Vermont (71.3% of schools are rural); and Maine (67.4% of schools are located in rural communities). Rural Policy Matters: August 2010
Specialized and advanced course offerings in rural schools are more limited, on average, than in urban schools due to the shortage of appropriately trained teachers and financial constraints. But rural schools often experience closer ties among teachers, parents, and students, fostering a supportive academic environment. Rural Education At A Glance
Status of Education in Rural America (2007) In 2003–04, over half of all operating school districts and one-third of all public schools were in rural areas; yet only one-fifth of all public school students were enrolled in rural schools. In 2003–04, a larger percentage of public school students in rural areas (10 percent) attended very small schools (schools with fewer than 200 students) than public school students in towns (3 percent), suburbs (1 percent), or cities (1 percent).
Relationship between Rural School and Technology
Rural education issues have been in contention for a long time, and owing to this, several efforts have been made in providing or introducing educational technology into the rural schools.
Educational Technology is defined as the study or practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creation, usage and management of appropriate technological processes and resources which are but not limited to software, hardware and internet applications and its various activities.
The benefits of educational technology cannot be over emphasized.
• Large Scale Learning Participation: It is now possible for large number of people, including those in the rural areas to now engage in distance learning and still be able to have access to the learning materials.
• Improvement In Writing: The use of word processors has made it very much easier for students to edit their written work and also enable them to share and comment on fellow students work via computer network.
• Easy Learning: The introduction of educational software have made it possible for teenagers to easily follow up on certain subjects, especially in the rural areas and at the same time minimizing the rural education issues.
There is no denying the fact that these technological developments have really helped in launching the rural schools into the outside world. Let us take the case of online or E-learning.
Benefits of Online Learning
Online or E-learning is the art of using various electronically supported aids in teaching or learning, which at the same time has a positive effect on the construction of knowledge owing to individual knowledge and experience of the particular learner. It could also be said to be the transfer of skills and knowledge through the use of the computer system and the internet network.
E-learning could be in the form of electronic applications and processes which are but not limited to virtual classrooms, computer based learning, audio or video tapes, satellite TV/Radio, CD-ROM, intranet, web-based and internet.
Allen and Seamen (2009) confirmed that close to a quarter of all students in tertiary education were taking full online courses in 2008. It is also a fact that in 2006 alone, up to 3.5 million students were enrolled in one online learning higher institution or the other in the USA. Another fact from the Sloan Foundation says that between 2004/2009, there was 12-14 percent increase in student enrollments for fully online post-secondary education learning in the United States.
The benefits of online learning are but not limited to the following:
• Unlimited Access: Through online learning, people from all walks of life, irrespective of geo-political, economic and physical differences, including those in the rural schools have been able to gain knowledge and information from recognized experts at the least minimal cost.
• Flexibility and Convenience: Online learning timetable is organized in such a way that tuition is available 24/7. The flexibility of the timetable has made it possible for learners to engage themselves in other activities since they are not bound to any specific time of physically attending classes. If the need arises, there is the possibility for a learner to pause or take a break from their learning sessions.
• Technology Age: We are living in the 21st Century, which is without doubt, going progressively digital. E-learning has made it possible for those with a tight schedule, rural or even remote areas to acquire digital literacy skills which are deemed necessary in their different areas of discipline, career or profession.
• Minimal Time Consumption: Online learning has to a great extent, reduced the overall physical training time on various disciplines.
• Ability to Bookmark: With E-learning, the learner does not have to struggle to remember where he or she stopped from the last lecture or training had. The computer is already built with the ability to remember a point of bookmark, as to resume from there.
• Mobility: The learner does not need to be commuting from one place to the other to gain this knowledge. He/she can decide to remain in one location and achieve what he or she wants from the online training.
• Accessibility: The learner is able to have access to courses from any location, so long as there is an internet connection.
With all these said, there is no doubt on the extent improvements in technology and online learning has helped in solving some of the rural education issues by connecting the rural school to the outside world. There is also the higher percentage of the possibility of the rural schools being the model technology schools of the future.