Survey of Distance Education Use in Rural Schools Wallace Hannum Associate Director for Technology National Research Center on Rural Education Support

DE Project Overview Survey Lit Review Planning Study Design Preparation Conduct Studies Evaluate Disseminate Project Years Conduct Studies Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Survey of Distance Education Use Who uses DE? What courses? What technology? How successful? Additional needs? Barriers?

Survey Timeline Questionnaire Design InterviewingInterviewing Data Analysis January - March April - June July - September

Questionnaire Design Factors DE Use & Needs Technology DE Type Content Areas Barriers

Sample REAP –Rural low income –Small rural Random sample 10% –415 school districts –394 participated 294 SRSA 100 RLIS Interviewed 94.5% Not Interviewed 5.5%

Participating Districts by State AL-4 AR- 14 AZ-8 CA-10 CO-12 CT-2 MD FL-3 GA-8 IA-13 ID-5 IL-20 IN-2 KS-16 KY-7 LA-2 ME-4 MI-11 MN-9 MO-19 MS-11 MT-14 NC-4 ND-17 NE-19 NH-2 NJ NM-6 NV-2 NY-9 OH-9 OK-31 OR-9 PA SC-4 SD-11 TN-6 TX-45 UT-1 VA-1 WA-10 WI-4 WV-1 WY-2 HI AK-5 DE RI MA VT-2 GA-8 FL-3

Key Findings DE Use Content Areas Technology Barriers 68% use DE Foreign Language Web-based Scheduling Two-way video Trained Instructional Personnel DE as Priority Difficult to Implement English Science Math 70% report need for DE

Types of Courses Offered 12% 21% 18% 20% 11% 7% 11% Science Math English Foreign Language History Psychology or Sociology Other

Types of Technology Used 14% 12% 4% 7% 11% 2% 25% 21% 4% Correspondence by mail Correspondence by Cable TV Satellite TV Self-instructional computer- based tutorials One-way video conferencing Two-way video conferencing Web-based or online courses Other

Districts Offering DE by Region

Districts Offering DE by Majority Ethnicity 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% WhiteBlackHispanic American Indian Mixed

Providers of DE 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Local District Regional Consortium State Private Out of State Public VHS Out of State Private VHS

Prepared Academically for DE 0% 4% 45% 51% Not Well at All Not Very Well Somewhat Well Very Well

Prepared in Study Skills for DE 1% 11% 60% 28% Not Well at All Not Very Well Somewhat Well Very Well

Prepared in Computer Skills for DE 1% 23% 76% Not Very Well Somewhat Well Very Well

Satisfaction with DE Courses 2% 6% 45% 47% Very Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Somewhat Satisfied Very Satisfied

Satisfied by Type 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Mail Cable Satellite CBT 1-Way VC2-Way VC Web Very Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Somewhat Satisfied Very Satisfied

Satisfaction by Region ANOVA Sum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig. Between Groups Within Groups Total

Satisfaction by Ethnicity ANOVA Sum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig. Between Groups Within Groups Total

Who Pays Tuition Costs 49% 38% 3% 10% District Students State Other

Current DE Meets Needs of Students 2% 7% 53% 38% Not Well at All Not Very Well Somewhat Well Very Well

Need Access to Additional DE Courses 65% 35% Yes No

Courses Needed 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% MathScienceHistory Foreign Language English

Who Decides What Courses for DE Superintendent /Assoc Sup School Board Principal Guidance Counselor Teacher Other

Selection of DE Providers 62% 23% 15% District Selects from Approved List Externally Selected

Barriers