Australia and Canada are large countries with small populations relative to their size, in which a not inconsiderable number of citizens live beyond major centres of population. In both resource-based economies, the provision of quality education in rural schools is an important part of the national social and economic infrastructure. This article…

In partnership with the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Vista School District, 1 of 10 districts in Newfoundland, Canada, established the Vista School District Digital Intranet (VSDDI) to deliver Web-based advanced placement courses to rural students. Advanced placement mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry courses are delivered…

The successful integration of information technologies in the teaching of biology and other sciences is in part dependent on the transition from closed to open teaching and learning environments. This paper outlines the transition from a closed model of schooling in rural Newfoundland and Labrador to the beginnings of an open model. Seniors in a…

Two models for using information and communication technologies to teach physics to students in remote areas of Canada and Russia are described. In Canada, an intranet electronically links schools in a Newfoundland school district to the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Advanced placement physics is delivered via the Internet. Newfoundland has…

A great deal of experimentation with telecommunications technologies is occurring in both New Zealand and Atlantic Canadian rural schools. New Zealand has developed a National Information and Communications Technology Strategy, the objectives and initiatives of which are described. On both the North and South Islands, small rural schools have…