Sundeen,
T. H. & Sundeen, D. M. (2013). Instructional Technology for Rural Schools:
Access and Acquisition. Rural
Special Education Quarterly, 32 (2), 8-14.
Review
This
article was written to explain how rural school districts can obtain resources to
implement educational technology. The
authors’ belief in the importance of educational technology is identified in
the following statement, “Preparing students with 21st century
learning can be facilitated, in part, through the integration of instructional
technology into classrooms.” The authors
of this article explain the main struggle many rural school districts face in obtaining
educational technology is funding. Rural districts just do not have the large
student populations that urban districts have.
While the costs to educate students are theoretically the same, larger
districts are able to reduce the fixed cost through higher enrollments. The need for educational technology is even
higher is rural school districts because historically rural districts have high
populations of special student groups (English Language Learners, students
living in poverty, and students receiving special education services).
Educational technology can help close the language and ability gaps of these
students and those students in urban districts.
The article goes on to list technologies that are available and emerging.
What they are and how schools can use these technologies in the classroom. This article is very useful for rural
districts because in addition to describing the technologies available, it
lists the costs associated with acquiring them. The authors also explain that
educational technology can be procured through grants and names particular
grants, their funding amounts, criteria needed to qualify and deadlines.
Personal
Reaction
The
reason I chose this article to review is because I grew up in a rural school
district in the 1980’s. My school
district did not have the money that larger districts had. Today my former school district has embraced
educational technology and I believe they exceed many larger, suburban school
districts use of it. The district has
been given many grants to implement educational technology mainly because it is
a rural school district.
