Technology-Mediated Consultation to Assist Rural Students: A Case Study

Abstract

Emerging videoconferencing technologies permit face to face communication in a virtual, real time manner so that educational expertise can be shared across geographical boundaries. Although demonstrations of successful use of videoconferencing to share expertise of teachers and related service personnel go back 20 years, the sustained use of technology for this purpose has yet to occur. This paper describes a case study in which consultation was delivered to a special education classroom in a remote region to help develop and implement the IEP for a young child with autism. While there was a clear benefit to the child in this case, collateral technological and programmatic challenges were never fully overcome, thus shortcutting the intended intervention. Issues that must be resolved for families and local education agency personnel to benefit from the expertise of consultants at a distance are discussed.

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