Greater academic pressures have been placed on rural schools to provide effective learning that will allow students to fulfill high school graduation requirements and prepare for entry into post-secondary institutions. Rural schools are confronted with many problematic issues including remote locations, limited resources, and shortage of qualified teachers. To relieve academic pressures, many rural secondary schools are turning to distance education as a solution. Distance education satisfaction of rural school districts that are currently using Web-based online curriculum may be premature. Although asynchronous Web-based online classes can provide rural secondary students with required graduation courses or advanced classes, the effectiveness of the online modality may be lacking. Most secondary students have not acquired motivational and time management skills and the maturity necessary to successfully learn in an independent asynchronous online environment. Although rural school districts seem to be satisfied with merely filling academic course shortages, few research studies have been conducted to provide guidelines for determining the quality and effectiveness of the distance learning courses. A relatively new distance learning delivery method used within rural secondary education is digital Interactive Television (ITv). The instructional objective of ITv is to provide a better delivery format for interaction and synchronous communication between the instructor and the learner, regardless of location. Remote and rural learners interact synchronously through audio and visual technologies, combining all locations simultaneously to extend a traditional classroom environment. The purpose was to conduct an in-depth case study to investigate the effect of ITv on student motivation, achievement and anxiety in four selected public rural secondary schools. The primary objective was to determine if ITv used in rural secondary schools affected student achievement. The findings revealed that motivation and anxiety had no effect on achievement for the students enrolled in ITv courses. The participants were comfortable using ITv, similar to a traditional classroom, and no stressful detractions occurred which allowed for positive learning to take place and above average academic scores. Unlike Web-based online courses, students felt that the immediate live assistance was available as needed during the ITv class and that their academic scores would be better.

Provides hands-on information and real-life examples for using interactive television (ITV) in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary classrooms. Covers instructional content, pedagogy, and technology, with descriptions of equipment and instructions for use, and discussion of types of pedagogy and instruction that work best over ITV. Offers practical strategies and activities that can be used in the classroom to decrease the feeling of distance, and gives presentation tips. The authors are currently involved in educational technology and bilingual education, and are helping design a program that uses ITV to deliver instructional content in Spanish to remote rural schools. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR