Validating a Distance Education Model for Delivering Electronic Curriculum to Rural High School Students

Black Hills State University, Spearfish SD

Investigators

Abstract

This project is expanding an existing project to add six new schools to this distance-learning effort to teach electronics courses to students in remote, rural high schools. This expansion enables the investigators to reach significantly more students and to validate the emerging distance-delivery model on a broader scale. The project is providing professional development for teachers in the selected high schools, most of the equipment and supplies required for student participation, internships and field experiences for students and teachers, dual enrollment options, and a model for offering technical and specialized curricula in a very cost-effective way. An outside evaluator is assessing the impact of the project on student interest in and preparation for technical and scientific occupations and the effectiveness of the distance-learning model. Dissemination plans includes presentations at regional and national conferences, publication of a paper in the ITEA Journal, and discussions with targeted state agencies.