This paper describes the use of webcasting technology in a personnel preparation program for rural special education practitioners. Emerging technologies offer promising solutions to the challenges of providing accessible and appropriate training to rural special educators. Web-based instruction is especially appropriate for on-the-job training of…

Uses data from 1985 and 1988 surveys of 48 rural West Virginia school districts to assess changes in patterns of personnel deployment and program implementation related to students with severe disabilities. Examines staff ratios, certification issues, teacher recruitment and retention problems, service delivery, and service configurations.…

Distance education is becoming a major delivery mechanism for teacher education programs in special education, especially for rural areas. Whatever the delivery system, telecourses depend on the mutual efforts of an instructor and a producer to satisfy the demands of both academic content and production values. Both instructor and producer have…

Overviews special-education applications of distance education services in rural areas, including direct service programs for special education students, preservice personnel preparation programs, and inservice teacher training programs. Suggests that the use of distance education will continue to grow as telecommunications technologies become…

Multimedia instructional materials represent an important resource for teacher education programs in special education. They enable prospective special educators to observe and study important aspects of professional practice without the time and expense of actual field experiences. Multimedia materials can be a form of anchored instruction or…

The use of distance education for rural personnel preparation in special education and disability services was examined in the literature on 32 programs. The programs tended to have a narrow focus on graduate education in low-incidence disabilities; needed external support due to high costs; and had demonstrated sustainability. Emerging trends are…

A distance education program at West Virginia University (WVU) offers graduate level training to prospective and practicing special education teachers in rural areas. This report compares the cost effectiveness of distance education to previous models at WVU during the past 15 years, including campus-based and field-based delivery systems. The…

This paper provides guidelines for using video presentations in teacher education programs in special education. The simplest use of video is to provide students with illustrations of basic concepts, demonstrations of specific skills, or examples of model programs and practices. Video can also deliver contextually rich case studies to stimulate…

As increasing numbers of students with disabilities are placed in regular classrooms, the shortage of rural special educators means that many rural classroom teachers are the primary providers of individualized programming to meet special needs. Since 1994, West Virginia University has been expanding its existing teacher education programs to…

The rapid growth of special education programs has exceeded the capability of teacher training programs in West Virginia to fill new positions in schools serving children with learning or behavior disorders. The focus of the Mainstream Practicum Project is to train regular educators who are currently working as untrained, uncredentialed personnel…

This report describes a program developed by West Virginia University to address the increased demand for doctoral level special education personnel in higher education, particularly for colleges and universities in rural areas. Data indicate that the available pool of qualified teacher educators in special education has not been sufficient to…

To meet the need for trained teachers for rural special education, especially for teaching the severely/profoundly handicapped, the Severe/Profound Handicaps Training Program was established by West Virginia University. The program consists of 20 hours of coursework and 9 hours of practicum experience, leading to a Master's degree and/or teaching…

Since 1990 West Virginia University has offered a distance education program leading to teaching certification and a master's degree in either severe/multiple disabilities or early intervention/early childhood special education. The courses were offered via satellite transmission, but in response to demand for these courses in areas without…