"Rural isolation is a problem all over the world," Patricia Hughes, adult education director for the western Waldo County School District in Maine, told Abigail Curtis of the Bangor Daily News. Her district is using technology to ease this problem and reduce illiteracy and poverty. In September 2010, the district launched a new adult education initiative called RSU3, a virtual learning center based at Mount View High School. The center goes beyond traditional distance learning by having students create avatars and interact with students in virtual hallways and classrooms.
Jack Wheeler, an 18-year-old who recently moved to the area to live with his fiancee and baby, is using RSU3 to earn remaining credits needed for his high-school diploma. Traveling literacy teacher Beth Lurie told Curtis how a young, stay-at-home mom who has no driver's license uses the program to break from the isolation. "She can go in there and not be so lonely."
Students can take classes in biology, English and math with real teachers popping in to check each student's progress. Kennebec Valley Community College has joined the program, allowing students to take English and math classes with college professors and apply for financial aid, Curtis reports. (Read more) Click here to see a demonstration of the 'virtual world.'
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