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In this study, a review of the professional literature from 1985 through 1999 was conducted to identify any reports of technology-mediated distance education programs designed to prepare special education and related services personnel in rural areas. Data collection involved an index search of refereed journals as well as conference programs or proceedings of professional organizations, an online search of Web sites of colleges and universities, and contacts with professional colleagues known to be engaged in distance education. For each reference or report located, data were collected to answer questions related to the target population, the technologies used for delivery, the program components, the funding sources, and the intended outcomes of the program. Where needed data were lacking, researchers sought additional information by reviewing the program's Web site, brochure or other material, and interviewing personnel reposnsible for each program to clarify inconsistencies ro obtain missing data. Analysis of the data revealed that many of the distance education programs that currently exist in special education and related services are focussed on personnel preparation in rural areas. In addition, the technologies utilized for distance education have changed considerably over time as new options became available, with most programs making use of a combination of media for distance delivery. The demonstrated longevity of many distance education programs suggests that this mode of delivery will continue to have a major impact on personnel supply and demand in rural special education and disability services in the years to come.

This article is an overview of the development and implementation of technology-mediated distance education in special education at West Virginia University. The authors describe how the program changed to take advantage of emerging technologies during the past two decades, discuss the actual and potential impact of distance education on rural schools and communities, and offer suggestions for instructors and learners who are considering whether to become involved in technology-mediated distance education.

Joel Garreau, in his 1981 book The Nine Nations of North America, outlines nine areas of "power and influence" with distinctive values and prospects that crossed political boundaries. His conceptualization of these economic and cultural regions of the continent reflected the modern era of industrialization and the rise of large cities that began after the Civil War and lasted for over 100 years. After 10 years, James Patterson and Peter Kim (1991) wrote The Day America Told the Truth, which identified further divisions shaped by the depletion of natural resources, the loss of manufacturing jobs to developing countries, the rise of the financial and service sectors of the economy, and the exodus of families from the cities to the suburbs. More than a decade later, Thomas Friedman, in his controversial book The World is Flat, suggested that further changes are being shaped by the twin forces of information technology and economic globalization at the dawn of the 21st century. For many years, the attention of policymakers, researchers, professionals, and the public as whole has been focused on the problems and possibilities of urban areas in the United States. Rural education leaders have decried the lack of rural-friendly policies, the dearth of rural research, and the ignorance about rural issues (Beeson & Strange, 2003; Sherwood, 2001). Today, however, there is growing interest in the challenges and opportunities faced by rural America, as evidenced by the creation of a bi-partisan group of representatives from the U. S. Senate and House known as the Rural Caucus, the implementation of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), and the new study by the U. S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Science titled Status of Education in Rural America, published in Summer 2007. As part of this topical issue on the meaning of rural and its implications for rural education in today's world, this article examines the area Garreau characterized as "the Foundry" from a rural perspective. The Foundry Then and Now The Foundry: Garreau's Urban Vision Garreau (1981) included a chapter on the "nation" he termed "the Foundry," which encompassed the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Some years later, Patterson and Kim (1991) further sub-divided the Foundry into two areas: Metropolis (the chain of large cities along the east coast) and Rust Belt (the decaying small towns and rural areas in Appalachia and the Midwest). While these authors all focused on the urban industrial character of the region and ignored the many rural areas that lay scattered across it, in fact, this area in many respects embodies the intersection of metropolitan America and rural America in a complex interplay of city and country that has significant implications for rural schools and educators. The Foundry: A Rural Vision Perhaps the most highly urbanized area of the U. S. (and source of the brightest glow of light seen from space due to the high population density in the area), the Foundry is also quite rural and rural in quite distinctive ways. Although the urban zones that lie within the Foundry are more similar than not, the rural areas in this region are remarkably diverse, ranging from the mountain meadows and lakes of the Adirondacks to the pine barrens and dunes of the Atlantic shore to the hills and hollows of Appalachia to the level farmlands of the Midwest. One might think this diversity suggests that these rural communities may not have much in common; in fact, they share many of the same challenges and opportunities. The similarities are due largely to the fact that these rural areas exist in close proximity to large metropolitan areas where their land faces the danger of uncontrolled urban sprawl and their people the lure of better prospects in the urban economy. The Foundry is easily divided into two sections by using the chain of the Appalachians down its center as a dividing line of sorts. …

Education and human services by their very nature imply an ethical imperative (Kelman & Warwick, 1972; Becker, 2005) as these areas of endeavor represent work designed to alter the development and other characteristics of the children and their family members who are being served. The ethical imperative is an ideal based upon an assumption that we must both do good and do good well. In this article, we begin with several ethical dilemmas applicable to rural special education; these are dilemmas similar to those special educators must face but are idiosyncratic, in part, to rural locales. We follow these dilemmas by petitioning special educators to develop a language of ethics, and, perhaps, too, a commitment to social justice, since the legislative policy stimulating and requiring the development of such services has its foundation in social justice. Still, even in the presence of codes of ethical conduct developed to guide professional practice, we believe there is a higher calling, a need to move toward ideals in the work done by special educators. This calling must be absent any consideration of sanctions for not acting ethically that seem to be at the center of discussions of ethical codes—typically taking the form of this question: What happens if I do not adhere to the ethical code of conduct of my profession? For us, this petition for moving toward ideals in the work we do, and the development of a language of ethics, should be at the core of answering two essential queries throughout our professional careers: Why we do what we do? Why do we care?

To address critical shortages of special education personnel in rural areas, institutions of higher education are using the Internet to bring personnel preparation programs to prospective and practicing teachers in rural communities. However, often instructors of such courses receive little to no training on how to design and implement a course in the online environment. While learning management systems may differ at various colleges and universities, there are many helpful strategies that can make the processes of course development and implementation easier for the novice and experienced online instructor. In this article, four instructors from two different universities with substantial distance education experience offer practical tips for creating and managing online courses. Personnel preparation programs in special education struggle to address teacher shortages in the field that are becoming ever more urgent in response to the new requirements established by the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004. Today, many special education programs are attempting to address these shortages, especially in low incidence disabilities and the early intervention, via distance education (Ludlow & Brannan, 2001, dated 1999; Ludlow, Conner & Schechter, 2005). Although the shortages are seen across the country, they are particularly high in rural schools (Menlove & Lignugaris-Kraft, 2004). New technologies for distance education have allowed school systems to hire interested individuals already living in a rural area and provide them with access to personnel preparation programs (Menlove & Lignugaris-Kraft, 2001). Institutions of higher education have used a variety of technologies such as satellite broadcasts, interactive television, audio conferencing, and the Internet (Skylar, et al., 2005) for distance education. However, as the capabilities of the Internet have improved, more colleges and universities are choosing this as their mode of delivery. The United States General Accounting Office (2002) reported that 84% of four-year institutions in the United States offered online courses to some 1.5 million students. In 2006, around 3.2 million students took one or more online courses, with 96% of institutions with enrollments of 15,000 and over offering online courses (Sloan Consortium, 2007). The Internet, however, is not without its limitations. Some rural areas offer only dial-up connections with old phone lines that offer even less than the 56K speed as the only option to access the Internet. (Rural Assistance Center, 2007). This option, though generally adequate for email and discussion boards, is less than optimal for other applications often employed in distance education (e.g., video streaming, desktop conferencing) that require broadband access. Rural participants sometimes can access higher speed connections to the Internet at the community's public library or their local school system (Rural Assistance Center, 2007). These sites, however, present issues of firewalls and filters that block access to certain web sites or file types. Still, more connection options such as satellite and cable Internet access are rapidly becoming more available in rural areas. As this occurs, more personnel preparation programs may choose online courses and programs as a viable delivery system in rural service areas. As distance education technologies change, so must pedagogy and instructional methods. Use of the Internet as an instructional delivery system is still in its infancy. In this article, we share with you some simple ways that online courses and programs can be made better and easier for all stakeholders involved in the process (i.e., instructors and learners) based upon our collective experience of 25 years in online developers and instructors at West Virginia University and the University of Kentucky. …

Current legislative mandates for schools to bring all students to the proficient level on state content standards by 2014 have been both commended and criticized by stakeholders across the nation. Schools are expected to meet this challenge by employing only highly qualified teachers who are well versed in content and the use of evidence-based practices. They must document adequate yearly progress toward proficiency for all students, including those with disabilities. Most groups praise the accountability that accompanies these mandates; however, concerns have been voiced by some educators about their impact on rural schools as well as their implications for special education services. Various stakeholders in rural areas across the country were surveyed to examine the perceived impact of the NCLBA mandates for highly qualified teachers and adequate yearly progress. Qualitative research methods were used to analyze responses to open-ended questions asking participants to expand on special education issues related to qualifications of highly qualified teachers, documentation of adequate yearly progress and other general concerns. Some common themes emerged related to the unique circumstances of rural schools as well as the potential impact of NCLBA on rural special educators and special education programs.

Personnel preparation programs in special education at the preservice and inservice levels have made extensive use of distance education program models to offer teacher education and staff development to rural schools. While distance education technology, such as interactive video and the Internet, are used to deliver content coursework, the supervision of practica at a distance can be challenging. The University of Kentucky and West Virginia University, early users of distance education and current implementers of programs that use online or interactive video delivery, have developed practicum models for providing supervision to prospective and practicing special education personnel in rural areas. This article describes three different models across four programs of supporting practica at a distance now in operation at these institutions, discussing formats used for coordinating the experience and interacting with students and on-site supervisors.

Special education has a long history of effective advocacy on the behalf of persons with disabilities and their families. In this article we describe our recent advocacy efforts as ACRES members on behalf of rural special education. In addition, we offer tips for others who want to be active in influencing policy and legislation through advocacy activities. Special education has a history of effective advocacy. Members of the ARC (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens) were instrumental in the passage of legislation that mandated a free and appropriate public school education for all children, regardless of ability. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and its subdivisions have been active in the development of policies to implement special education services. TASH (formerly the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps) has promoted numerous best practices, such as inclusion and positive behavior support. The American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) has been the national advocacy voice for special education in isolated and remote areas of the United States where there are unique needs, such as persistent poverty or cultural diversity. For example, the inability to attract and retain special educators or to access needed related services in rural America has become a critical issue under the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act that all teachers, including special education personnel, be "highly qualified." ACRES has played and continues to play a major role in the development and dissemination of models that use distance education technology to prepare special educators who are native to rural regions and are, thus, more likely to continue to remain in their respective regions once they become certified. During the 2004 annual ACRES conference, the ACRES board voted to send representatives to the nation's capitol to advocate on the behalf of rural special education. Thus, in May of 2004, we (i.e., Collins-the ACRES treasurer from Kentucky; Ludlow-the editor of the ACRES journal from West Virginia; and Menlove-the ACRES chairperson from Utah) spent a day on "the hill" in Washington, DC, meeting with key legislators or their staff. At that time, none of us had participated in advocacy activities on the national level. The purpose of this article is to describe our experiences and to provide tips for others who wish to engage in national or local advocacy activities on behalf of rural special education. Preparing to Be an Advocate Professionals in special education and related services have an obligation to inform policymakers about critical issues since they are the ones who are aware of and affected by these issues on a daily basis. In addition to addressing professional issues, special educators are often the voice of the students with disabilities and their families whom they serve in rural communities. While it can be intimidating to present an issue to a legislator, it is important to remember that legislators value the opinions of their constituents and are sensitive to their needs. Legislators' time, however, is limited and their activities must be spread across numerous state and federal issues. Thus, it is important to prepare in advance for advocacy activities in which issues must be presented factually, succinctly, and clearly within a brief amount of time. Become Informed about the Issues Prior to any advocacy activity, you should become well-versed in the issues you plan to present. It is not sufficient to say that you want to call attention to rural issues. Legislators need to know which issues are most pressing, who is affected by them, what can be done to address them, and, if possible, how much it will cost. Data and specific examples strengthen the arguments you present. Consulting advocacy organizations, such as ACRES (see the website at www.acres-sped.org), for information can be a beginning point. …

The shortages of special education personnel are nowhere more severe than in low incidence disabilities in rural schools. This article presents the results of a national study that identified shortage estimates, state certification patterns, personnel preparation programs, and distance delivery mechanisms and examined relationships among these data to assess the state of shortages of special educators in the areas of vision impairments, hearing impairments, severe disabilities, and early intervention. The authors outline current issues and future trends in preparing personnel in low incidence disabilities for rural areas.

Under the most recent national mandates, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) and the newly reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), schools must bring virtually all students to the proficient level on state content tests within the next decade. Schools are expected to meet this challenge by employing only highly qualified teachers who are well trained to use evidence-based practices beginning next year. Serious concerns have been voiced by a variety of stakeholders about the impact of these mandates on rural schools as well as about their implications for special education services. Various stakeholders in rural areas across the country were surveyed to examine the perceived impact of the NCLBA mandates for highly qualified teachers and annual yearly progress and inform the debate on policies and practices associated with their implementation in rural schools. Results indicated that a majority of participants believed that NCLBA would have a negative impact on rural schools and that rural schools would have difficulty meeting the accountability and quality provisions of the Act in the area of special education.

This article explains the process of writing and publishing in professional journals and attempts to demystify the process as it related to the professional literature in special education and disability services. It offers a 21 step procedure to help beginning and novice writers in generating ideas to write about, planning and preparing the manuscript, and submitting the manuscript for publication. Each step includes insider tips and tricks for becoming a more successful professional writer and reaching the goal of seeing one's written work in print. Today's professionals working in the disciplines of special education and disability services are often faced with a need or have a desire to share thought-provoking ideas and opinions, successful programs and practices, and results of research and evaluation studies. But many people are unfamiliar or even intimidated by the professional publication process-a problem that prevents them from making valuable contributions to the field. After many years of preparing manuscripts for publication, editing the works of others, and assisting doctoral students and junior colleagues on the path to becoming professional writers, I have found that it can be helpful to regard publication as a competitive sport. As in all sports, the winning players are those who know their own strengths and limitations (lightweight wrestlers do not enter heavyweight contests), become familiar with the arena and judges (trainers scope out the track conditions before they race their horses), take the time to get plenty of practice (champion gymnasts work out many hours a day most days of the year), and start out with (major league baseball stars have worked their way through the minors). Here are some of my best time-tested tips and tricks to help you be a successful competitor in the sport of professional publishing in this journal as well as others. Generating Ideas Worthy of Publication Before you can be published or even submit work for an editor's consideration, you need to figure out what topics and issues you can write about and that someone wants to read about. It is not uncommon for doctoral students and even for early career faculty to wonder whether they have ideas worth putting into print and sharing with the professional community. Practitioners, whether teachers and therapists or administrators, typically feel that publication is something best left to those with advanced degrees and research skills. Most people undervalue their own experience and knowledge and believe that those whose work is published are somehow different from everyone else. Yet, the simple truth is this: everyone with any expertise in and commitment to the field of special education and disability services has something to offer, if only to those who have similar roles or interests. Here are some ideas for determining what information you may have that would be worth sharing with others and which journals would be willing to put into print. 1. Write about what you know and do on a daily basis. Your accumulated experience on some topic can be of great use to the field, especially if it is seasoned with reflection and connected to existing theory and practice. Everyone who is any good at their current or recent job, whether it is teaching students with disabilities, coordinating an early intervention program, or training prospective teachers to use direct instruction, has some knowledge that others would like to share. That knowledge may be in the form of a specific practice, a program model, or data collected through an action research project, and experimental study, or a program evaluation effort. You should ask yourself the question: what do I know a lot about that someone else would benefit from? 2. Address topics and issues that are current in the field. Publication is one way of joining the professional discourse on concerns that are common to a discipline at a specific point in time. …

This paper describes how to use a desktop computer and inexpensive software plus a PC or Macintosh streaming server to deliver live interactive class sessions via video with audio streaming on the Internet. Although the use of Web-based instruction for preservice and inservice program delivery in special education and disability services is expanding rapidly, most existing programs rely primarily on text presentation and asynchronous (delayed time) technologies such as threaded discussions. Relatively little use has been made to date of the Web's multimedia capabilities or synchronous (real time) technologies such as audio- or video-conferencing. The use of webcasting technology (both simulcasts in real time and re-broadcasts on demand) represents a fairly inexpensive, simple to use mechanism for delivering personnel preparation programs for practitioners working in early intervention, special education, or adult disability services in rural areas without the need for high bandwidth connections. The distance education program in Severe/Multiple Disabilities and Early Intervention Special Education at West Virginia University has successfully utilized webcasting technology to deliver a graduate certification and degree program to practicing but uncertified special educators working in rural areas of the United States as well as in several other locations around the world.

Technology-mediated distance education models have had a major impact on preservice and inservice preparation of special education and related services personnel over the last several decades. The increasing availability of Internet access and the multimedia capabilities of the World Wide Web have combined to spur the growth of online programs as a medium for both initial certification and continuing activities. This study reports the development, implementation, and evaluation of four courses designed as professional development activities for practicing personnel working in early intervention, early childhood special education, elementary and secondary special education, and adult disability services in rural areas of West Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian region. The article explains the process used to create learning materials and technology formats for presentation of content and interaction with learners, outlines the steps in developing and implementing the courses, and presents the results of evaluation activities conducted to assess learning outcomes and participant perceptions of the online learning experience. The findings of this study suggest that Web-based instruction is a viable mode for delivering staff development. Participants demonstrated the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, expressed satisfaction with most aspects of online teaching and learning, and reported specific applications of the information in their own classroom and intervention program settings.

In the last decade, distance education applications in rural special education have expanded rapidly with the growing use of telecommunications technologies. Distance education has been used in direct service programs for students with special needs in rural school systems, in preservice personnel preparation programs, and in inservice training programs for teachers working in rural areas. State educational agencies, colleges and universities, and regional and local school districts all have implemented distance education efforts to support rural special education using a variety of new technologies. Distance education will continue to offer exciting opportunities in which the needs of pupils, preservice students, and inservice teachers will be met as telecommunications technologies become more widely available and organizational constraints are eliminated.

Since the enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the provision of special education programs for students with severe disabilities has been a challenge for school systems in rural America. This study assessed the changes in patterns of personnel deployment and program implementation used by rural schools providing services to students with severe disabilities. Findings showed that teacher certification, recruitment, and retention problems remain despite increased availability of personnel. Difficulties in providing least restrictive placement options and an array of related services persist as barriers to effective educational programming.