Education Department official wants to help rural schools adopt technology

Increasing internet access at rural schools is an important tool in improving rural education, says the Education Department's top technology official. "Technology can be a great multiplier," Karen Cator, director of the department's Office of Educational Technology, told Tech & Learning magazine in a recent interview. "So, if you have a fantastic course online, for example, it has this kind of multiplier effect. It helps students, but it also amplifies the efforts of the in-classroom teacher." Online courses may be the first technology area associated with rural schools, but Cator says other technological improvements can be key for rural schools.

"Online learning is definitely the main thing we think about when we think about rural areas, but there are other access solutions such as in Vail, AZ, where they put routers in their school buses so students who have very long bus rides can do their work," Cator said. "It’s about extending that school day." Since cost can be prohibitive to rural schools adopting new technologies, the department is working to ease the financial burden, Cator said. "What we are really trying to figure out is how technology can be funded by integrating it into the core context of school programs," she said. "So whether you are trying to teach reading, or math, or social studies, or whatever, that technology is a slice." John White, deputy assistant secretary for rural outreach, pointed to the Rural Education Achievement Program as one area where rural schools can look for funding. (Read more)