In this episode of the National Rural Education Podcast, we interview Dr. Steve Johnson of Lisbon Public Schools in North Dakota. In this podcast, Dr. Johnson discusses shifting from classroom to online from the perspective of a small rural school district and the northern plains of the Midwest. Dr. Johnson shared that the schools are the center of the community for not only education but socializing and connecting with others. He discussed responding to the call by the governor to react quickly to COVID-19 shifting a variety of rural school districts to online learning. North Dakota shifted quickly to address the new challenges of the new culture we find ourselves in. They met the challenges, with 99% of students shifting online successfully. Yes, you read that right, 99%. As an example, all homes with children were given fiber optic internet connections for school work. The teachers collected data for their families in their rooms regarding accessibility to the internet as well as other data collection regarding family technology use. Dr. Johnson shifted to discussing the appropriate use of applications and learning materials, depending on grade level as well as ADA compliance. This was an excellent interview with details regarding methods for shifting online for rural schools. Notes and Links from the podcast https://www.nd.gov/dpi/parentscommunity/nddpi-updates-and-guidance-covid-19 https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/alerts/coronavirus https://remote-learning-p-12.mn.co/topics North Dakota has also had our Center for Distance Education, which has its roots in “Correspondence School,” taking classes by mail dated back to 1935! We are using them as mentors for our teachers as I have a very close working relationship with Dr. Matthew Lonn, State Director. Members of NDSOS have many advantages working with CDE resources as part of their membership in NDSOS. https://www.ndcde.org/