Written by Tania Lyon, Ed.D.
Date: March 13, 2026
How RISE and CILC connect rural classrooms with experts, career exploration, and live interactive learning.
Expanding access to meaningful learning experiences often requires collaboration across schools, organizations, and networks. At the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC), we work with mission-aligned partners who share a commitment to connecting students with experts, experiences, and resources that might otherwise be difficult for schools to access.
One such partner is RISE – Rural Instruction for Shared Education, a distance learning network dedicated to supporting rural schools and connecting districts through shared learning opportunities.
In a recent conversation with Courtnie Mullen, Vice President & Director of Classroom Development, we discussed how collaboration and technology help ensure geography does not limit educational opportunity.
Founded in 2016, RISE now works with more than 200 schools, districts, and community colleges across four states. The network helps rural communities expand course offerings, connect classrooms, and create meaningful learning experiences for students and educators alike.
Through their partnership, RISE and CILC have provided a series of live learning experiences for secondary students focused on career exploration. Students have connected with professionals in fields such as meteorology, wildlife and zoo careers, space exploration, and football.
“The experiences have gotten rave reviews from participating educators and their students,” Mullen said.
A Network Built for Collaboration
RISE offers a network of resources developed by educators experienced in integrating technology into meaningful learning environments. Designed to foster collaboration among interconnected schools and partners, the network provides access to resources that enhance and extend district curriculum.
Many rural districts face similar challenges—limited staffing, smaller course catalogs, and geographic distance.
RISE helps schools address these challenges by working together rather than independently. Through the network, districts can share courses, connect classrooms, and expand opportunities that might otherwise be difficult to provide locally.
“The network really works when people use it,” Mullen said.
Technology plays an important role in making these connections possible, but as Mullen explained, technology itself is only part of the story. What matters most is how it is used to create meaningful learning experiences and connections between students.
When Virtual Learning Builds Real Connections
Early in the development of the network, RISE facilitated a shared dual-credit English course connecting students from multiple districts. At first, students wondered what interaction would feel like in a virtual classroom. Would it be awkward to engage with students they had never met?
Within a month, the answer became clear. Some students began meeting halfway between their towns at a local diner to study together and get to know one another. What began as a shared virtual course became a real community—something Mullen says happens often across the network.
“Technology is just a vessel for the learning experience,” Mullen said.
Experiences like this highlight an important point: the success of connected learning depends on the design of the experience—and the teacher guiding it.
Expanding Learning Beyond Geography
RISE expands learning opportunities by connecting classrooms with experts and organizations beyond their local communities.
Through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC), RISE classrooms participate in live, interactive virtual field trips that bring scientists, historians, and cultural organizations directly into the classroom.
Mullen shared an example of a classroom connecting with an expert in meteorology and careers in severe weather through a CILC program. Because the topic aligned with the standards students were studying, the experience was immediately relevant. Students were able to ask questions, engage directly with the expert, and connect classroom learning to real-world applications.
Moments like these reinforce an important idea—the goal is expanding meaningful learning experiences for students wherever they live.
Learning Designed with Intention
Before joining RISE, Mullen spent seven years as a high school Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and later worked as a technology integration specialist and technology director. These experiences continue to shape how RISE approaches its work.
Opportunities offered through RISE are intentionally designed to support authentic learning experiences that connect to what students are studying in their classrooms.
“Students benefit most when learning experiences are created with intention—authentic opportunities that connect directly to the classroom,” Mullen said. “That’s exactly the kind of experience CILC has helped bring to our students.”
Connected learning expands what is possible. For many rural students, travel opportunities can be limited, and experiences such as visiting museums or science centers may be difficult to access.
Through connected learning, those opportunities can come directly to the classroom.
Networks and organizations interested in expanding access to live, interactive learning experiences are always welcome to explore partnership opportunities with CILC.
At CILC, we are proud to partner with networks like RISE that are committed to expanding access, supporting educators, and connecting students to the wider world—because where a student lives should never determine the opportunities they are able to experience.