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I should add that Judge Jones's decision doesn't even necessarily apply throughout the entire 3rd Circuit, as he's the federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and other federal judges within the 3rd Circuit could also decide similar cases differently.

By the way, you asked, "If an appeals court in another district makes a ruling . . . " Such a ruling would come first from another (trial-level) federal circuit court, not from an appellate court. Of course the appellate courts could get involved later, in any cases where there were grounds for appeal.

It's unlikely that this decision will get appealed, as the newly-elected school board has pretty much said that if the plaintiffs win, it's fine with them, and they're not thinking of appealing. So this is likely to remain just a trial court decision, and it's technically not even binding on other trial judges in that same federal district. However, as opinions go, it's a hum-dinger, and it inevitably going to be influential -- especially as to the nature of ID, because the ID movement put its best scientists forward to testify.

A trial in another court, if appealed, would set a precedent in that particular federal appellate circuit. If it reached a conclusion different from the Dover case, it wouldn't change the Dover result.

There are eleven federal appellate circuits, each with its own geographical area, plus the DC circuit. If there's only one appellate case on a particular topic, although its not binding outside of that circuit, it can nevertheless be very persuasive on judges in other circuits.

It sometimes happens that different appellate circuits will come to different results on the same issues (in different cases, of course). In such a situation, the losing side in the most recent case will attempt to get the case heard by the US Supreme Court, to resolve the conflict among the circuits. Many of the mundane cases the US Sup Ct hears are of that variety. The idea is to have uniformity among all the federal circuits.