EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE:
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN SMALL
RURAL SCHOOLS
Tools for Great Teachers:
www.toolsforgreatteachers.com
Hallsville ISD: www.hisd.com
White Oak ISD: www.woisd.net
TEAM MEMBERS
From Tools for Great Teachers:
Kathy McConnell Fad and Paula Rogers
From Hallsville ISD:
Stacey Perkins, Kelly Graff, Toni Erickson, and
Paula Rogers
From White Oak ISD:
Nina Peery, Pam Cranford, Claire Koonce, and
Danieli Parker
WHO’S RURAL?
Definitions vary but some examples are:
 Communities with fewer than 2,500 people (U.S.
Census Bureau)
 Schools with fewer than 600 students (U.S. DOE)
 Towns with fewer than 25,000 residents (Advocates)
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL
ISSUES?
 More than one in five students in the U.S. attends a
rural school.
 More than one-half of all school districts are in rural
areas.
 More than one-third of all public schools are in rural
areas.
 While overall enrollment in public schools grew
about one percent from 2002 to 2005, rural student
enrollment grew 15 percent.
National Center for Educational Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov
Rural Schools and Community Trust: http://files.ruraledu.org
Education Week: Rural Education: http://wwwledweek.org
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL
ISSUES?
Large urban school districts often set the tone for
education initiatives and are the impetus for government
policies, but small rural districts educate their students
without benefit of the same financial support,
community partnerships, technological resources, and
geographical advantages.
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL
ISSUES?
Many rural areas face serious educational issues like:
Concentrated poverty
Difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers and principals
Lack of or limited Internet access
Limited secondary coursework options (e.g., AP, IB classes)
Less funding than urban areas
Shrinking tax bases
“Brain Drain”
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL
ISSUES?
In addition, there are challenges facing the many rural
public schools in Texas that are a result of decisions
made at the state level. For example:
Texas ranks 47th of the 50 states in per student spending in public
schools, more than $3,000 below the national average.
Texas has both the lowest number and the lowest percentage of
children without health care coverage.
Since drastic budget cuts to public education in the last legislative
session, more than 30,000 public education jobs have been lost.
References: Dallas Morning News, retrieved on February 22, 2013
.http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com
National Education Association database
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL
ISSUES?
Even so, rural schools also have some important advantages like
 Strong community support
 Close links to community employers
 Educators willing to “try anything”
 Instructional Technology!!
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN
RURAL SCHOOLS
In this discussion, we will focus on sub-populations in
small rural schools….groups that can be most
significantly and positively impacted by
instructional technology.
1. Students with disabilities.
2. Sub-groups who feel the effects of rural school
issues more keenly: Economically
disadvantaged students, second language
learners, and students isolated from opportunity
by geography.
PRIORITY 1: STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS IN SMALL RURAL
SCHOOLS
Hallsville ISD focuses on including students with
disabilities in general education through a co-teaching
model.
Students are educated with their non-disabled peers in
general education classrooms.
Both a general education and special education teacher
are in the classroom and work as partners.
Students have the advantage of highly qualified teachers
who are experts in differentiation and who consistently
respond to individual needs.
DEFINITION OF CO-TEACHING
Utah’s co-teaching handbooks has a great definition of
co-teaching.
“Co-teaching is the instructional arrangement in which a
general education teacher and a special education teacher
deliver core instruction along with specialized
instruction, as needed, to a diverse group of students in
a single physical space. Co-teaching partnerships require
educators to make joint instructional decisions and share
responsibility and accountability for student learning.”
CO-TEACHING IN SMALL RURAL
SCHOOLS
Because co-teaching requires a commitment of
personnel and resources, which are often limited in small
rural schools, teachers have to make the most of what
they have.
This is where instructional technology comes into play.
IT can make all the difference for students and their
teachers.
PRIORITY 2: SPECIFIC SUBPOPULATIONS OF STUDENTS
AT RISK SUB-GROUPS IN
SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS
For economically disadvantaged students, second
language learners, and rural students with limited
opportunities due to geography, lack of exposure and
experience can result in long term educational
disadvantages.
While instructional technology can’t erase the impact of
the risk factors, using instructional technology can make
a big difference in foundational skills like Academic
Vocabulary.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Academic vocabulary refers to the words associated with
the content knowledge.
Within every discipline there is a specific set of words to
represent its concepts and processes.
These words are conceptually more complex than
everyday language; therefore, they are more difficult to
learn.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
A student’s depth of word knowledge within a
discipline, or academic vocabulary, relates to success in
that subject (National Institute for Literacy, 2007).
To learn specialized words, such as the vocabulary of
science, students must know the content associated with
the word (Armbruster, 1992; Graves & Penn, 1986).
Source: Sage Publications
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Vocabulary knowledge has been identified as the most
important indicator of oral language proficiency, which
is particularly important for the comprehension of both
spoken and written language.
In addition, general vocabulary knowledge is the single
best predictor of reading comprehension. The
interdependence of word knowledge and reading
comprehension increases as students advance through
school.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Many low income children and English language learners
have limited word knowledge, which negatively affects
their reading comprehension in the upper elementary
and middle school grades.
As early as the first grade, children from higher income
families know at least twice as many words as children
from less affluent families.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
As students advance in grade level, the materials they
read become more difficult, and students who lack
academic language can neither access nor comprehend
these texts.
In addition, children who are learning English often
enter kindergarten lagging behind their English-only
peers in the skills necessary to start reading, with the gap
remaining throughout their school years.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
This literacy gap is rooted in children’s early experiences
at home and at school.
Both the quality of children’s oral language experiences at
home and the quality of vocabulary instruction in school
have lasting consequences that contribute to the gap.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Many students acquire academic background knowledge
outside of school and come to subject-area classes
already knowing and using terms essential for
understanding content.
For example, they or their families may have traveled
extensively, exposing them to a variety of individuals,
experiences, and cultures.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
 Such students commonly take part in conversations
at home that include information that will be useful
to them in school. They have incidentally gained the
academic background knowledge they need to
succeed in school.
 By contrast, students from families with fewer
resources or who live in rural areas lack such
opportunities and, thus, have not incidentally
acquired important academic background knowledge.
Source:
 Effective Vocabulary Instruction. National Center for Reading First; Technical Assistance
 Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together: How Systematic Vocabulary Instruction and Expanded Learning Time Can Address the L iteracy
Gap. White, and Kim, 2009, Harvard Graduate School of Education
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
One of the problems for students in rural areas is their
lack of exposure to people, places, and things outside of
their community and, sometimes, outside of their
school.
This is magnified for students who are economically
disadvantaged, have a disability, or are limited English
speakers.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Hallsville ISD and White Oak ISD, like many other rural
school districts, have students who have ….
 Never eaten in a “sit down” restaurant
 Never seen an escalator or been in an elevator
 Never been to a store other than a convenience store, even stores within 10 miles of
home
 Never been to a public library, a museum, or a concert hall
 Never gone swimming, hiking, skating, bicycling, fishing, or sledding
 Never taken a family vacation or even a short trip
THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL
TECHNOLOGY
Instructional Technology, when used effectively and
extensively, can bridge the gaps the face students in
small rural schools.
We will share examples and ideas with you so that you
see the impact IT can have.
STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES
YOU WILL SEE AND HEAR
1.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Parent and Administrator Support
Digital Responsibility
Blogging
Mobile Devices (QR codes; Nanos)
Software (Edmodo, , Moodle, etc.)
Continuing Education and Training
Communication (Skype, Twitter, etc.)
Students’ Attitudes Toward Technology