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Putting the DISTANCE in Distance Education: An International Experience in Rural Special Education Personnel Preparation

Delivery of special education courses via distance education presents unique challenges, particularly when the distance between the instructors and students spans the globe. In this program description, two professors, teaching on the island of Cyprus, delivered courses to graduate students in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. This article provides an overview of ACCESS (A Colorado Consortium for Equity in Special Education Services), a rural special education personnel preparation program primarily delivered via distance education. The authors report evaluation data and address specific challenges to effective instruction when delivering on-line courses, including the establishment of a dynamic community of learners.