Rural schools typically face multiple challenges related to providing educational opportunities for students and staff. A comparison of curricular offerings in English, foreign languages, and mathematics in a Chicago suburban high school, a rural high school district, and a small rural unit district reveals the curricular disadvantages of small rural high schools. This newsletter reports on how eight schools and one intermediate educational service unit in Illinois have utilized technology to improve educational opportunities and expand curricular offerings. The schools were identified by technology consultants in Illinois Educational Service Centers as making effective use of educational technology. The schools are not all rural, but were chosen as models that can be replicated in rural settings. Each case study includes a program description, examines technology resources, addresses future directions, and provides the name and address of a contact person. A common denominator in the case studies was that one individual was the driving force behind the technology integration process. In most schools, there was no technology plan in place, and schools appeared to "wing it" when adopting the use of educational technology. In most cases, the only evaluation was anecdotal in nature, and frequently hardware was purchased with no thought as to how to use the technology. It is suggested that schools follow a three-step process in implementing technology: (1) conduct a district technology needs assessment focusing on current practice and desired practice; (2) develop a technology implementation plan and regularly update the plan; and (3) develop a cadre of teachers that are willing to experiment and provide the training and resources for its success. (LP)