I am a proud resident of rural America. Our communities are resilient and innovative. Our crops feed the nation and our rivers and reservoirs provide clean drinking water. We provide the oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric and wind power that keeps the lights on in homes across the country. And our beautiful scenery is a welcome respite for urban and suburban Americans from all walks of life.
But rural America needs help. Quality healthcare is hard to find. Job opportunities can be limited. And our infrastructure—roads, bridges, power grids and more—is in disrepair.
Our schools also face a litany of challenges, including:
- Inadequate access to dynamic content libraries that nurture student curiosity.
- A lack of time-saving teacher tools that make scaling best practices easier to implement.
- A limited ability to showcase potential career pathways beyond those found locally.
- Insufficient access to high-quality professional learning opportunities for teachers.
While these issues are similar to those schools in urban and suburban environments face, the relative isolation and lack of resources of rural school systems makes finding solutions problematic. In addition, the scale of the population impacted by these challenges is vast.
Today in the United States, nearly one in five students attend rural schools. In 12 states—Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming—at least half of the public schools are considered rural. (Showalter).
While targeted policies and legislation, increased funding and a new level of community involvement are required to address the root causes of many of the education issues in rural communities, rural teachers across the country can begin to overcome these hurdles to learning through the thoughtful implementation of the latest generation of edtech services.
Accessibility to curiosity-nurturing content
Libraries can be few and far between in rural communities. Often, the local school is the only library available and, even then, costs often prohibit rural schools from maintaining a robust, modern library.
Those of a certain age who grew up in rural communities might remember the Bookmobile. The Bookmobile would travel from school to school, offering students access to the limited books they carried or delivering pre-ordered books to students who thought ahead to make special requests.
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Unfortunately, the number of rural communities serviced by a Bookmobile has decreased significantly over the years. So, how do we provide new literature and nonfiction stories and books to our rural students?
Today’s generation of K-12 digital learning platforms provide literature to students through audiobooks, eBooks and animated stories. Often, these stories are coupled with ready-to-use activities supported by classroom-tested instructional strategies that create engaging educational experiences for students. Because these resources are delivered via high-speed internet, there is no longer a limit to the titles available to students.
In addition, these platforms are offering students much more than books. Today’s digital learning platforms offer curated libraries of relevant, interesting videos, interactives, podcasts, virtual labs and much more that students can explore. In this way, today’s edtech services are making libraries of content that nurture the innate curiosity in all learners more accessible to rural populations.
Scaling best practices
In the rural United States, some educators still teach in the equivalent of a one-room schoolhouse. This means that they are teaching every subject and every grade level and are managing every minute of the school day single-handedly.
Whether a teacher works in a one-room schoolhouse or not, edtech can help tremendously by scaling best practices into any environment and empowering teachers to deliver more personalized and differentiated learning to students.
For example, adaptive learning resources can tailor the lessons based on student performance, ensuring they receive the right level of challenge and support. Also, data analytics can be used by teachers to track student progress and identify areas for help, making it easier to provide targeted interventions.
In addition, assistive technologies—like speech-to-text software, screen readers and adjustable text sizes—can make learning materials more accessible to students with differing abilities while language tools such as Google Translate can help multilingual learners understand and engage in course content.
Together, these tools and others can change the rural education landscape by providing instruction in ways that cater to individual needs, promote engagement and ensure inclusivity. By leveraging these innovative tools and approaches, we can create a more effective learning environment for all students.
Career exploration
If I look around my community in eastern Pennsylvania’s Upper Bucks County, I can see career opportunities in agriculture, animal husbandry, construction, warehousing and more. When I expand my view to the areas around my immediate community, I can see careers in law enforcement, retail, healthcare and, of course, education.
However, many of our rural students are looking for career paths beyond their local communities. Providing students with the ability to learn about new careers and career paths beyond their immediate surroundings is critical. E
dtech resources can now connect students with industry professionals through virtual mentorship and Q&A sessions. This real-world interaction allows students to gain insights into various professions and understand the day-to-day realities of different careers.
In addition, virtual career counseling tools offer resources ranging from career assessments to college planning tools. These platforms can help students understand their skills and interests and match them with potential career options.
Edtech is revolutionizing the way students explore and prepare for their careers. From personalized learning experiences to virtual career counseling and skill development, these technologies provide invaluable support in navigating the future. By leveraging these tools, students can uncover their passions, build essential skills and confidently step into their chosen career paths.
Professional learning
Rural educators often find it difficult to travel long distances to attend professional development conferences and sessions, not only because of the time and energy it takes to travel but also because they likely must cancel school because there is no substitute to cover their classes.
Edtech offers avenues for synchronous or asynchronous professional learning that can keep teachers just as informed about the latest developments in instructional practice as their peers. In addition, professional learning communities like the Discovery Educator Network, Apple’s Distinguished Educator program and others provide opportunities for teachers to stay connected through a global network of teachers.
Teachers can share best practices, compare lessons and connect with career specialists to talk to their classroom. But most importantly, teachers have access to professional development that they can do when it fits their schedule.
For years, rural systems have lagged behind their suburban and urban counterparts in integrating edtech into instruction. But now, thanks to greater internet access and more affordable and innovative technologies, conditions are ripe for rural districts to catch up. Make no mistake—I do not believe edtech alone will solve all the challenges facing rural education. However, by leveraging technology, we can create more effective learning environments for all students that can support them in achieving their full potential, no matter where they live.
