Background. Modern educational policy is focused on ensuring equal access to quality education, but rural schools, especially small schools, face systemic challenges such as staff shortages, poor infrastructure, and unique sociocultural contexts. While the potential of information and communication technologies to overcome these limitations has been widely researched, the didactic capabilities of video training as a tool for visualization, individualization, and increased motivation in the specific context of rural schools remain understudied. This creates a scientific and practical gap that requires targeted research.

Purpose is to develop a scientifically based methodological approach to the implementation and effective use of video training systems in the educational process of rural (small-scale) schools, including their classification, adaptation to local conditions, and overcoming the professional shortcomings of teachers.

Materials and methods. The study is based on the use of a set of complementary methods. The theoretical part included an analysis of pedagogical, psychological, and methodological literature. The empirical part consisted of a diagnostic study of the level of digital competencies among 264 teachers of rural schools in the Republic of Tatarstan, using the author's diagnostic self-assessment card, as well as a generalization of pedagogical experience. Based on the obtained data, pedagogical design and modeling of the process of introducing video training systems were conducted.

Results. The conducted research allowed us to achieve the set goal and formulate the following conclusions:

1) The analysis of scientific sources showed that, despite the general didactic value of video simulators, their application in the specific conditions of a rural small-scale school remains a little-studied area, which determines the relevance of the work.

2) A specialized classification of video simulators has been created and tested, which helps teachers to purposefully select a digital tool for specific learning tasks, taking into account the context of a rural school.

3) A number of specific requirements for the use of video simulators in rural schools have been identified and described, including the need for adaptation to different age groups, the use of offline formats, and the integration of local history material.

4) The assessment of teachers' readiness showed that the greatest difficulties for teachers are associated with the use of digital tools in the field of didactics and educational analytics, which indicates the priority areas for their further training.

5) In conclusion, a detailed methodology for implementing video training systems was proposed and tested in practice, covering both their integration into the educational process and the necessary organizational steps for successful implementation of the technology.