Digital Learning Strategies for Rural America: A Scan of Policy and Practice in K-12 Education

Many reports on rural education give little attention to digital learning. At most, they tend to note either infrastructure needs or the potential of remote course access, with little focus on instruction, outcomes, or exemplars. This report intends to begin correcting that imbalance by connecting the dots between rural regions, rural education, and digital learning. In the introductory sections, the authors explore what "rural" means, and how to characterize rural education. In subsequent sections, they explore rural education issues, the ways in which rural schools and students are challenged by issues related to being remote, and then the ways in which online and blended learning can help address these challenges. Finally, the authors profile 15 states and programs to demonstrate policies, districts, and schools that are using digital learning to meet rural education needs. The profiles are each written as stand-alone case studies, and can be read independently of one another based on the interests of each reader. [This report was co-published by the Foundation for Blended and Online Learning.]