**3. Rural students**

Information communication technology now available to a large number of rural students has increased the higher education opportunities for these students, but E-Learning for rural students is still challenged by significant barriers. The success of the rural student appears dependent on adequate preparation of (a) the faculty, (b) the rural student, and (c) the college or university supporting E-Learning. Lack of preparation by any one of these three potentially reduces the effectiveness of E-Learning. Owens and colleagues [9] interviewed 49 nonindigenous graduate and undergraduate students located in remote areas in Australia who completed distance education courses between 2003 and 2007. Three significant barriers were identified: (a) feelings of isolation, (b) the knowledge and attitude of the teaching staff, and (c) the ability to use the required technology. The quality of interaction between the student and the institution and the amount of communication was seen as the key to success. Communi‐ cating frequently with individuals who appeared caring and supportive deterred feelings of isolation, but the perception of not being treated as well as the students on campus undermined the distance learning experience. These conclusions are similar to what other studies have found [e.g., 39].

Training for faculty for e-learning online instruction in higher education varies significantly across institutions [2, 12, 40-43]. Faculty willing to accept the challenge, who are not over‐ whelmed by the expertise needed to both develop and then deliver a course in this manner, are often small in number [44]. Understanding rural students so instructors can teach in a culturally responsive way and improve the students' learning experiences requires another level of expertise [9, 45, 46]. Instructors serving rural students need to acknowledge the reasons their rural students do not want to leave their communities to attend school. Are they needed in their home communities and families to serve a vital role, are the travel costs prohibitive, are they hoping to avoid some of the discrimination and racism that exists on college cam‐ puses? Remaining sensitive to the needs of their rural students is vital for faculty serving rural students through E-Learning. Serving rural students from Indigenous communities will be more effective if the unique learning styles of the Indigenous people are understood and incorporated and if cultural and linguistic traditions including Indigenous knowledge are invited in to the E-Learning classroom [46].

Getting started in E-Learning can be challenging for rural or remote students due to possible insecurities about learning, potential disruptions to family life, and the financial cost of education [9, 11]. However, a strong desire on the part of rural students to pursue higher education has also been reported [13, 22, 44, 47], along with an understanding of the selfdisciplined and self-regulated style required by E-Learning and an appreciation of the access to qualified or specialized instructors. The partial anonymity offered in E-Learning can actually make participation easier for rural students [25, 48].

The sense of isolation often felt by students engaged in E-Learning, including rural students, is well documented [22, 36]. Rural students, many who are first generation college students or members of other underrepresented groups in higher education, appreciate consistent and respectful communication with instructors and other members on the main college campus [47]. Prompt feedback from the instructor on how they performed on assignments is reported to reduce anxiety and the sense of isolation for rural students. Students are not generally looking for social interaction in the E-learning classroom but they do want to interact with their peers, their instructors, and the course content.

Institutional factors necessary to successfully launch and maintain e-learning programs are documented elsewhere [22, 25, 40, 49, 50], but a factor pertinent to successfully serving rural students is an understanding of the digital divide [11, 13, 41, 44, 51, 52]. The digital divide is a term used to describe economic and social inequality that exists for certain populations with regard to their access to, use of, or understanding of information and communication tech‐ nologies [53]. In other words, who does or does not have fast, reliable Internet service and who is or is not able to use it. Higher education institutions hoping to serve rural students must appreciate the limitations of technology in both student access and student understanding of the technology. Many rural students do not have access to personal computers, requiring students to rely on the computers available in local schools or community centers, if available, and many rural students do not have access to computer training skills or access to a fast broadband connection [9, 13, 51]. Colleges and universities committed to (a) increasing student access to technology, (b) increasing student understanding of technology, and (c) improving the types of Internet access available are likely to see an increase in student enrollment and improve the chances for rural students to succeed in higher education.
