Distance Learning Strategies Research Articles

Distance Learning in the COVID-19 Era: Perceptions in Southern Italy

The first case of pneumonia was reported on 8 December 2019 and identified on 7 January 2020 as COVID-19. On 9 March 2020, to stop the spread of COVID-19 cases, the Italian government declared a health emergency, forcing all citizens to go into lockdown. Suddenly, schools were constrained to using distance learning strategies with little or limited experience on the topic. Particularly, in the southern regions of Italy, approximately 20% of the students did not have access to any devices and were excluded from learning, producing a direct risk of increased adolescent delinquency. This research team intended to report the results of an observational study that focused on the perceptions of distance learning in adolescents from secondary school in Naples (Italy) between April and May 2020. The questionnaire comprised 11 questions focused on the perceptions of distance learning in comparison to live classrooms, relationships with peers and teachers, and levels of anxiety. The study is amongst the first to report the effect of the pandemic from a student-centred perspective and hopes to produce information to develop future research on asynchronous learning.

Optimizing virtual and distance learning during an emergency and beyond.

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced program directors of sleep medicine fellowship programs, and other clinical training programs, to immediately transition longstanding face-to-face clinical and didactic instruction to virtual formats. The effects of this sudden transition to distance learning affect multiple aspects of training, from recruitment to patient care, scholarly activity, and well-being. Clinical educators must also understand how to consider and maintain equity while implementing distance learning strategies. Resources were collected from multiple sites that are openly accessible to sleep medicine educators. These resources are presented within their topic domains to provide guidance on how to effectively implement distance learning strategies into a clinical training program. Links to helpful resources are provided for each of the following topics: virtual clinical care, didactic delivery in a virtual clinical learning environment, generating scholarship via distance learning, well-being in the setting of distance learning, virtual interviews, and equity in a virtual clinical learning environment. Clinical training programs, including sleep medicine fellowships, can utilize virtual and distance learning methodologies to deliver, and even enhance, currently existing curricula. The widespread adoption of distance learning strategies opens new opportunities for educational innovation and collaboration among training programs.

Attempts, Successes, and Failures of Distance Learning in the Time of COVID-19

Over 1.7 billion students around the world have had their education disrupted by the spread of the Coronavirus disease worldwide. Schools and universities have not faced this level of disruption since World War II. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a colossal challenge for teachers to urgently and massively adapt all their classes to distance learning in order to maintain educational continuity with the same quality. Even if some teachers and certain classes were ready to face the situation, a large majority had to adapt their teaching and learning in a very short time without training, with insufficient bandwidth, and with little preparation. This unexpected and rapid transition to online learning has led to a multiplication of teachers’ strategies for distance learning in lectures, tutorials, project groups, lab works, and assessments. The purpose of this paper is to present the feedback from students and teachers who participated in the lockdown semester of two different groups of a 5-year program in Chemistry, Environment and Chemical Engineering (100 students) at INSA Toulouse (France). The analysis has highlighted some great successes and some failures in the solutions proposed. Consequently, some guidelines can be given to help us all to learn the lessons of such a singular experience in order to face the unexpected future with more knowledge and more successful distance learning. Teachers have shown very strong resilience during this crisis, at the cost of significant personal commitment. They admit that they have learned more about distance education in two months than in the last 10 years.

Student perceptions of distance learning strategies during COVID-19.

Journal of Dental EducationVolume 85, Issue S1 p. 1190-1191 ADVANCING THROUGH INNOVATION Student perceptions of distance learning strategies during COVID-19 Emily Chen BA, Emily Chen BA Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USASearch for more papers by this authorKristie Kaczmarek BS, Kristie Kaczmarek BS Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USASearch for more papers by this authorHiroe Ohyama DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD, Corresponding Author Hiroe Ohyama DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD hiroe_ohyama@hsdm.harvard.edu Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Correspondence Hiroe Ohyama, DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD, Assistant Professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Email: hiroe_ohyama@hsdm.harvard.eduSearch for more papers by this author Emily Chen BA, Emily Chen BA Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USASearch for more papers by this authorKristie Kaczmarek BS, Kristie Kaczmarek BS Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USASearch for more papers by this authorHiroe Ohyama DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD, Corresponding Author Hiroe Ohyama DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD hiroe_ohyama@hsdm.harvard.edu Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Correspondence Hiroe Ohyama, DDS, MMSc, PhD, DMD, Assistant Professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Email: hiroe_ohyama@hsdm.harvard.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12339Citations: 19Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URLThe site is currently under maintenance and this functionality is not available right now. Please try later. Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume85, IssueS1Supplement: Advancing Through Innovation in a Challenging TimeJune 2021Pages 1190-1191 This article also appears in:Advancing Through Innovation in a Challenging Time RelatedInformation

Chemistry Learning via Distance Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This research is a descriptive study that describes the learning of chemistry during the Covid-19 pandemic. The respondents in this study were 127 high school students from the West Java and Banten provinces. A Google Form questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results showed that the most widely used online class applications were WhatsApp Group feature, Google Classroom, and Zoom. Students also used printed textbooks, e-books, and student worksheets as learning media. Students did laboratory practice at home using easily found tools and materials. However, a small portion of the respondents ( 11 %) used materials purchased from a chemical store, and another small portion of the respondents ( 14 %) used virtual laboratories. They reported the results of their practice by making a laboratory practice report as well as through video activities and Microsoft PowerPoint for presentation. Students learn from home with varying durations. Most students experienced obstacles during the learning process so that they prefer learning face-to-face in class as usual. Therefore, the teacher must prepare a variety of strategies for distance learning so that the students can learn chemistry from home with fun. Some strategies that can be applied are providing audio-visual learning media or computer/android-based games for chemistry, using the online class application that accommodates interactions similar to face-to-face learning, providing laboratory practice using tools and materials that can be easily found around the house, providing virtual lab application, and providing more opportunities for students to ask questions about chemistry topics that they do not understand.

Online computer science workshops for educators in higher education during Covid-19: challenges and opportunities of a forced distance learning

Abstract This study focuses on a course belonging to the University of Bologna’s bachelor’s degrees ‘Expert in Social and Cultural Education’ and ‘Educator in Childhood Social Services’ called ‘Computer Science Lab–based course’, which aims to develop digital competences necessary for the educational profession. Before COVID-19, this face-to-face compulsory workshop-based course consisted of nine parallel teachings with different programmes and teachers. Due to the impossibility of providing regular lessons, teachers have been forced to revise their working methods by using different distance learning strategies. This paper aims to offer an understanding of the situation by analysing teachers’ and students’ perceptions collected through questionnaires in relation to the following aspects: most used and effective teaching strategies; technical, communicative and relational difficulties encountered by teachers and students; aspects related to distance learning methods and perception of the usefulness of the course for the educational profession.

Effectiveness of the Distance Learning Strategy Applied to Orthodontics Education: A Systematic Literature Review.

Introduction:Tele-education refers to the use of interactive distance learning technologies. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of tele-education in the field of orthodontics.Methods:This systematic review has been registered in PROSPERO and followed PRISMA guidelines. Two independent researchers reviewed the literature available in the databases of PubMed/MEDLINE, Bireme, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, TRIP, SCIELO, LILAS, SCIENCEDIRECT, and Google Scholar using the following descriptors: "Education, Distance" OR "e-learning" AND "Orthodontics," including only interventional studies. The descriptive synthesis was conducted according to the Center for Reviews and Dissemination. The analysis of the biases was conducted using the MINORS protocol, and the analysis of the interventions using Kirkpatrick's method was evaluated.Results:Of the 15 remaining articles for complete reading, 4 were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria, leaving 11 articles for evaluation in the systematic review. Eight articles emphasized the evaluation of the distance education materials available, achieving a high percentage of acceptability among students, two cited only satisfaction, and one article evaluated the practical performance of the students.Conclusion:The results showed that orthodontic distance learning is an effective but complementary element, with no significant differences, to the traditional method of teaching.

A Novel Adaptive Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization Based on Decomposition and Dominance for Long-term Generation Scheduling of Cascade Hydropower System

Multi-objective long-term generation scheduling (MLGS) considering ecological flow demands is important for comprehensive utilization of water resources in cascade hydropower system (CHS). A novel adaptive multi-objective particle swarm optimization based on decomposition and dominance (D2AMOPSO) is developed in this paper to solve the MLGS problem. In D2AMOPSO, a constraint handling method based on repair strategy and individualconstraints and group constraints (ICGC) technique is embedded to address various constraints. An improved logistic map is adopted to initialize the population. During the evolutionary process, an improved Tchebycheff decomposition is introduced to select personal best and global best for each particle, and the non-dominated solutions found so far are stored in an external archive where crowding distance and elitist learning strategy are performed to improve its diversity. Meanwhile, an adaptive flight parameter adjustment mechanism based on Pareto entropy is adopted to balance the global exploration and local exploitation abilities of the population. A normal cloud mutation operator is used to keep the population diversity and escape local minima. In the case study of the Three Gorges Cascade hydropower system (TGC) under three typical years, the results of the proposed method and other four competitors show that D2AMOPSO can obtain better diversity and faster convergence solutions for the MLGS problem in less time.

Effectiveness of distance learning strategies for continuing professional development (CPD) for rural allied health practitioners: a systematic review

BackgroundAllied health professionals working in rural areas face unique challenges, often with limited access to resources. Accessing continuing professional development is one of those challenges and is related to retention of workforce. Effectiveness of distance learning strategies for continuing professional development in rural allied healthcare workers has not been evaluated.MethodsWe searched 17 databases and the grey literature up to September 2016 following the PRISMA guidelines. Any primary studies were included that focussed on allied health and distance delivery regardless of education topic or study design. Two independent reviewers extracted data and critically appraised the selected studies.ResultsThe search returned 5257 results. With removal of duplicate references, we reviewed 3964 article titles and abstracts; n = 206 appeared potentially eligible and were scrutinised via full text screening; n = 14 were included. Studies were published between 1997 and 2016, were of varied methodological quality and were predominantly from Australia, USA and Canada with a focus on satisfaction of learners with the delivery method or on measures of educational outcomes. Technologies used to deliver distance education included video conference, teleconference, web based platforms and virtual reality. Early papers tended to focus more on the technology characteristics than educational outcomes. Some studies compared technology based delivery to face to face modes and found satisfaction and learning outcomes to be on par. Only three studies reported on practice change following the educational intervention and, despite a suggestion there is a link between the constructs, none measured the relationship between access to continuing professional development and workforce retention.ConclusionTechnology based options of delivery have a high utility, however the complex inter-relatedness of time, use, travel, location, costs, interactivity, learning outcomes and educational design suggest a need for more sophisticated consideration by educational providers.Trial registrationRegistration with PROSPERO 30 June 2016: CRD42016041588.

Distance learning strategies for weight management utilizing online social networks versus group phone conference call.

SummaryObjectiveThe increase in technology and online social networks (OSNs) may present healthcare providers with an innovative modality for delivering weight management programmes that could have an impact on health care at the population level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of using an OSN to deliver a weight loss programme to inform future, large‐scale trials.MethodsSeventy individuals (age = 47 ± 12.4, minority = 24.3%) with obesity (BMI = 36.2 ± 4.0) completed a 6‐month weight loss intervention and were randomized to either a conference call or OSN delivery group. Weight loss was achieved by reducing energy intake by 500–700 kcal·d−1 below estimated total daily energy expenditure and progressing physical activity to 300 min/week. Behavioural weight loss strategies were delivered weekly throughout the intervention.ResultsConference call and OSN groups produced clinically meaningful weight loss of ≥5% from baseline to 6 months (phone = −6.3 ± 6.4%, OSN = −5.8 ± 6.7%). There was no significant difference in weight change between groups (p = 0.765).ConclusionThe phone and OSN groups met the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/The Obesity Society's Guidelines by reducing baseline weight by 5–10% within 6 months. OSNs appear to be a viable delivery platform for weight loss interventions; however, larger scale adequately powered trials are needed.

A globally networked hybrid approach to public health capacity training for maternal health professionals in low and middle income countries

BackgroundMundoComm is a current NIH-funded project for sustainable public health capacity building in community engagement and technological advances aimed at improving maternal health issues. Two to four teams are selected annually, each consisting of three healthcare professionals and one technical person from specific low and middle income countries (LMICs) including Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and other LMICs. MundoComm is a course with three parts: in-person workshops, online modules, and mentored community engagement development. Two annual 1-week on-site “short courses” convened in Costa Rica are supplemented with six monthly online training modules using the Moodle® online platform for e-learning, and mentored project development. The year-long course comprises over 20 topics divided into the six modules - each module further segmented into 4 week-long assignments, with readings and assigned tasks covering different aspects of community-engaged interventions. The content is peer reviewed by experts in the respective fields from University of Rochester, UCIMED in Costa Rica, and faculty from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic who maintain regular contact with the trainees to mentor learning and project progress. The purpose of this paper is to report the first year results of the MundoComm project.MethodsBoth quantitative and qualitative feedback (using online data capturing forms) assess baseline and post-training knowledge and skills in public health project strategies.ResultsThe course currently has one team each in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras for a total of 12 trainees. The course and modules include best practices in information and communication technologies (ICTs), ethical reviews, community engagement, evidence-based community interventions, and e-Health strategies. To maximize successful and culturally appropriate training approaches, the multi-media didactic presentations, flexible distance learning strategies, and the use of tablets for offline data collection are offered to trainees, and then feedback from trainees and other lessons learned aid in the refinement of subsequent curricular improvements.ConclusionsThrough remark and discussion, the authors report on 1) the feasibility of using a globally networked learning environment (GNLE) plus workshop approach to public health capacity training and 2) the capacity of LMIC teams to complete the MundoComm trainings and produce ICT-based interventions to address a maternal health issue in their respective regions.

Adoption of a Blended Training Curriculum for ACT in New York State.

Scant evidence exists in the literature for best practices in training assertive community treatment (ACT) teams to deliver highly effective services to consumers. This column describes a blended training curriculum, which includes both face-to-face and distance learning strategies, developed by the ACT Training Institute in New York State to meet the ongoing training needs of teams across New York State. Data on training uptake, which has steadily increased over time, are reported. The role of the state is crucial in driving adoption of training activities. The column also describes how the ACT Training Institute uses fidelity and outcome data to identify training needs.

Opportunities to improve the methods and forms of the strategic management in the system of secondary education

The article discusses the relationship of strategic management objectives in the general secondary education with the methods and forms of its achievements. As the strategic objective of secondary education serves the reorganization and optimization of compulsory secondary education and increase the possibility of non-formal education received by students outside of school. We consider some examples to support a specified purpose and expressing its specific advantages and disadvantages. Three main types of learning processes. The first – an arbitrary, non-structured learning process through which a person throughout his life acquires most of the knowledge and skills. The second – an informal (or non-formal) education. The third – the formal (school) education. It is shown that the trajectory changes in the content of the formal secondary education in Russian. The basic methods of strategic management of secondary education: funding and administration. The main forms of financing of secondary education on an example of the Voronezh area: financial services strategy; strategy to reduce the share of inefficient charges; Roadmap strategy. The directions of improving the financing of public services of general secondary education: optimizing the distribution of students in educational institutions; optimization of wages of teachers, depending on the population density in classrooms; optimization roadmap in education; Optimization of interaction of educational institutions with municipal and public services; optimization of per capita funding by region. The basic form of the administration of secondary education: a strategy of introduction of new federal education standards, the strategy of horizontal integration secondary educational institutions; management strategy through the levels of hierarchy; distance learning strategy. The possibilities of improving the administration of the main forms of secondary education on an example of the Voronezh region and other regions of Russia.

Distance learning strategies for weight management utilizing social media: A comparison of phone conference call versus social media platform. Rationale and design for a randomized study

Management of obesity in the context of the primary care physician visit is of limited efficacy in part because of limited ability to engage participants in sustained behavior change between physician visits. Therefore, healthcare systems must find methods to address obesity that reach beyond the walls of clinics and hospitals and address the issues of lifestyle modification in a cost-conscious way. The dramatic increase in technology and online social networks may present healthcare providers with innovative ways to deliver weight management programs that could have an impact on health care at the population level. A randomized study will be conducted on 70 obese adults (BMI 30.0–45.0kg/m2) to determine if weight loss (6months) is equivalent between weight management interventions utilizing behavioral strategies by either a conference call or social media approach. The primary outcome, body weight, will be assessed at baseline and 6months. Secondary outcomes including waist circumference, energy and macronutrient intake, and physical activity will be assessed on the same schedule. In addition, a cost analysis and process evaluation will be completed.

Developing a model of conflict in virtual learning communities in the context of a democratic pedagogy

In this paper, we argue that in order to get a fuller understanding of the complexity of conflict in democratic pedagogies in online and blended learning settings, it is important to know not only how to manage or resolve it, but also how it is triggered and can be avoided. The emancipatory nature of democratic pedagogies fosters differences, and differences provide the basis for the emergence of conflict among learning community members. Much has been written on certain aspects of conflict, such as conflict management or effects of conflict; however, these studies are frequently disparate and fragmented. Conflict has a cyclical dynamic and the main purpose of this study has been to experimentally build an analytical model of this cyclical dynamic of conflict, drawing on both literature and research data.We believe that such a model might empower practitioners and designers of democratic pedagogies to embrace and work with the differences that lead to conflict, as a way to support collaborative learning and action. The model of conflict which emerged at the end of the study is supported by illustrative qualitative evidence and constituted in a diagrammatic depiction of analytic themes that illustrate the connections between these themes, and the values ascribed to them. The outcomes of this study have implications for developing learning strategies for distance and blended learning

Strategies for Distance Learning to Increase Academic Achievement of High School Students in Risk Area of the Southernmost of Thailand

A qualitative approach was employed with 5 steps: (1) a study of environment in tutoring management of high schools in the sensitive areas of southernmost provinces, including the SWOT analysis and the Balanced Scorecard framework, (2) an analysis and synthesis to set the goals of the project, (3) a specification of strategic framework for distance learning system development, (4) a strategic plan developed from a strategic framework, and (5) a proposal of model and strategic plan of high school students academic achievement high school in the sensitive areas.

Usability of Instructional Interface: Accessibility Strategies of Courseware Design for Distance Learning, Nigeria

Usability is always the basic factor to be considered when developing any learning product. It attracts students to use the developed product such as courseware and help learners to gain more knowledge in learning. When usability strategies are considered in designing courseware, the courseware can be usable for the target users. Currently in Nigeria courseware are not fulfilling the requirement. Users are not happy with courseware; hence the usage is not encouraging, especially, in distance learning environment. Accordingly, this paper explains about the needs for determining the appropriate instructional interface elements using multimedia as part of usability strategies in courseware for distance learning. The study was carried out with fifteen academic staffs of a distance academic programme at university of Ilorin, Nigeria. Data were gathered through unstructured interviews. Having analyzed, the results show that there is a need for a study that determine the usability strategies for distance learning in Nigeria.

Strengthening the capacity of managers in pharmaceutical services based on Primary Health Care (PHC) at different levels of the health system.

IntroductionDistance learning methods have been widely used because of their advantages to continuing professional development processes. The Primary Health Care (PHC) is a strategy which has been implemented in order to improve the efficiency of health systems. Due to the need for access to medicines and technologies regardless of the strengthening of health systems, a new approach that better integrates both pharmaceutical services and health systems has been implemented.Case descriptionThis is a case study which consists of describing the process of restructuring, developing and implementing the second version of the Virtual Course on Primary Health Care-based Pharmaceutical Services for managers (CVSERVFAPS-12). The main objective is to strengthen the capacity of managers in pharmaceutical services, based on PHC at different levels of the health system, in order to support the restructuring and empowering of these services and, consequently, the health systems in the American region.Discussion and evaluationMany evaluation tools were applied to identify the achievement/improvement of planned competencies. The intervention proposals were collectively built and intended to be more than an academic exercise, looking forward to being implemented as a strategic intervention to promote changes in the pharmaceutical services of the American region. The main strengths identified for the second version of the course were related to the quality of the didactic material and content. Additionally, the tutors’ support was commented upon as a positive aspect. The main challenges faced in this rebuilding process related to the due dates of the activities and lectures as well as the time to capture and assimilate the content.ConclusionsThe CVSERVFAPS-Pilot was reformulated and CVSERVFAPS-12 is consistent with the issues raised in the pilot course’s evaluation in 2011, which were successfully implemented. The use of the distance learning strategy, through a virtual environment, for the application of the Virtual Course on PHC- based pharmaceutical services for managers, is appropriate and confirmed its role in public policy promotion through effective retention and distribution of health workers.

Un/Covering: Female Religious Converts Learning the Problems and Pragmatics of Physical Observance in the Secular World

This article presents the experiences of three women who have chosen to move from secular, assimilated lives to lives characterized by the distinctive dress and practice associated with observant Islam, Orthodox Judaism, and Orthodox Christianity, respectively. All three relied upon informal, peer, and distance learning strategies for their religious education. The article analyzes both experiences in informal adult religious education and contemporary U.S. experiences with identity and assimilation, or covering (Yoshino 2006).

RSEQ 5th Retrospective Issue Introduction

In previous Rural Special Education Quarterly (RESC)) retrospectives, one author has written the introduction and another the commentary. We decided to write together because we share similar experiences working together as faculty mentor and doctoral student, conducting research together as faculty colleagues from two universities (one rural, one urban), and being life-long Kentucky residents. In the introduction, we will discuss our individual histories working in rural special education and the importance of the American Council on Rural Special Education on our work. As well, we will draw parallels between issues addressed in this retrospective issue and how those same topics are impacting special education services for children and youth, birtii to 21, in Kentucky. After 7 years of teaching and administration, I (Jennifer Grisham-Brown) started working at the University of Kentucky (UK) in 1990 as Director of the Kentucky DeafBlind Project. While completing my doctorate, I traveled the state providing technical assistance and training to families, school districts and agencies serving children, birth to 21, with dual sensory impairments. The trials of service delivery in a rural state were especially apparent when trying to provide recommended educational services to a very low incidence population. During that time, we learned that strategies, such as personal future planning (Moss & Wiley, 1995), that enlisted community support were necessary to ensure that children with the most significant disabilities received needed services. After completing my doctorate, I worked with Dr. Belva Collins to implement the Training Rural Educators in Kentucky through Distance Learning (TREK-DL) Project. We delivered UK's severe disabilities and early childhood special education master's programs to teachers in rural Kentucky using satellite, interactive video, and on-site distance learning strategies. While training teachers through TREK-DL and later Project Options (for early childhood special education only), I traveled the state supervising students in elementary, middle, and high school resource and inclusive special education classrooms; in Head Start program, public preschool classrooms; and during home visits with early intervention providers. The breadth of issues rural Kentucky teachers deal with on a daily basis include extreme poverty, missed school days for snow and flooding, lack of school resources, and insufficient related services support and are evident across the entire state. During this time, Dr. Collins invited me to become involved with the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES). Since becoming a member of ACRES, I have benefitted from the important, high quality RESQ articles, excellent national conferences, and advocacy work of the organization. ACRES provides a niche for those interested in rural education in that it provides the most up-to-date information on using distance learning technologies and working with diverse populations of children and families. With changing technology, my treks to rural Kentucky have reduced, but the needs of our state remain. Presently, as Professor in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, we train early childhood educators in rural areas of the state. Our early intervention providers are dealing with many of the same issues I found some 20 years ago when I started providing technical assistance in Kentucky. However, those issues are exacerbated by one of the worst methamphetamine problems in the country, dramatic increases in our English Language Learner population, and a devastating state economy. ACRES, and what it stands for, is more relevant than ever! I (Sarah Hawkins) was introduced to ACRES as a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky. As a doctoral student, I took a doctoral seminar class that focused on various topics, and, one semester, the topic was No Child Left Behind and its effect on special education. …