Knowledge-based expert computer systems are addressing issues relevant to all special educators, but are particularly relevant in rural settings where human experts are less available because of distance and cost. An expert system is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that typically engages the user in a dialogue resembling the conversation a person might have with an expert consultant. The expert systems could serve as consultants to the educator in addressing issues such as identification, diagnosis, and remediation of problems presented by special education students. A number of computer systems are available or under development that may be of immediate value to rural educators. One such system is the Buggy program which identifies a student's arithmetic misconceptions by analyzing error patterns from test problems worked by the student. Several prototype programs are being developed by the staff of the Special Education AI Project at Utah State University to test the feasibility of using expert systems to solve problems in special education. For example, two CLAS.LD systems provide second opinions regarding the accuracy of the "learning disabled" classification. To prepare themselves to capitalize on the advantages of new technologies such as expert systems, educators in rural settings can develop their technological literacy. (JHZ)