A quasi-experimental study with 256 German sixth-grade students examined the effects of exploring syntactic structures on literacy-related achievements. The core feature of the instruction was that students had the opportunity to deal with syntactic structures directly, not mediated by analytic operations. Instruction covered six lessons targeting two types of syntactic contrasts (syntactic category contrasts, noun case contrasts). The results indicate that students profited from the instruction in their ability to use a marker of syntactic structure in written German, the capitalization of nouns. As to the ability to use the same marker to interpret text read, students of different achievement levels seem to have been differently affected. No effects were found for reading comprehension in general and spelling at the word level. The findings suggest that students' recognition of syntactic categories was enhanced even in contexts other than those they were familiarized within the instruction. However, it was not enhanced when they worked on a task that was completely new to them.

The consolidation of rural schools in the United States has been a controversial topic for policy-makers, school administrators, and rural communities since the 1800s. At issue in the consolidation movement have been concerns of efficiency, economics, student achievement, school size, and community identity. Throughout the history of schooling in America, school consolidation has been a way to solve rural issues in the eyes of policy makers and many education officials. Today, faced with declining enrollments and financial cutbacks, many rural schools and communities continue to deal with challenges associated with possible school reorganizations and consolidations. This paper, developed by the NREA Consolidation Task Force, provides a review of the literature on rural school consolidation, defines consolidation, addresses current research and issues related to consolidation with respect to school size, economies of scale, and student achievement, and concludes with proposed recommendations for the NREA Executive Board.

Robert A. Moody is Assistant Professor of EducationalAdministration at Fort Hays State University. His current technological research interests include the use of videoconferencing and social networks such as Classroom 2.0 for the enhancement of social presence, using Skype for academic advising, and the use of cell phones for classroom instruction. Regi L. Wieland is Assistant Professor of EducationalAdministration at Fort Hays State University. Her current research interests include curriculum mapping in higher education, the use of videoconferencing and social networks such as Classroom 2.0 for the enhancement of social presence, and using Skype and ooVoo for academic advising and small group conferences. IntroductionFor 30 years, the educational administration program faculty at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) followed a traditional face-to-face (F2F) on campus approach to course delivery. During the spring of 2002, the program faculty began to include the FHSU Virtual College's full motion Interactive Television (ITV) to extend the program beyond campus boundaries. Faculty transmitted the newly integrated instructional format to six broadcasting sites scattered throughout western Kansas, including a site on campus where course content originated. During the summer months, faculty continued to teach classes F2F on the FHSU campus.Beginning in 2004, faculty began an extensive review of the educational administration program and the 12 courses it contained (Dale et al. 2007). A key element of the process was our commitment as faculty to reflect upon our own individual technology needs. After reviewing current literature, faculty focused on connecting theory and action to transform the program by identifying and integrating technology that would lead to improving learning and instruction. Through research and dialogue, faculty discovered that the following concerns needed to be part of the revised educational administration program:

"Just-in-time" delivery of goods and services was the call to action phrase of the 1990's, but in the 21st Century, just-in-time is too late. University leaders in principal preparation programs must not only respond to the call of the field, but also anticipate the needs even before school administrators recognize the content and skills necessary with which to lead. As building principals become increasingly accountable for integrating technology into instruction and infrastructure, principal preparation programs are more accountable to prepare principals to succeed in their leadership roles, acknowledge the impact of principals on student achievement and teacher performance, and accept our responsibility to reinvent preparation programs instead of just reforming them.

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