Innovations in eLearning

Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/innovations-in-elearning/5015423/

Innovations in eLearning

Early childhood professionals can now access training programs and courses “on demand” from home or work, and shop the Internet for courses, credentials, and degree programs that best meet their needs and interests. But teaching and learning online are new experiences for early childhood professionals. To make the best use of these tools we need to learn from those individuals and programs that show the most promise. This is an aspect of technology in early childhood education that has been getting a lot of attention in the past few years. Here are six trends to watch in the coming year.

1. Online Certificates, Credentials, and Degree Programs. A number of higher education institutions offer online degree for early childhood professionals. A few with the most experience include Concordia University-Saint Paul (http://web.csp.edu/cshs/), Kansas State University (www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/cl/earlychildhood/), Northampton Community College (www.northampton.edu), Nova Southeastern University (www.fgse.nova.edu/), and Pacific Oaks College (www.pacificoaks.edu). See “Promising Directions for Early Childhood Professional Development” (Child Care Information Exchange, March 2003) for a more complete listing of online degree and certificate programs.

2. Collaboration. A promising partnership between higher education and business is the Online CDA credential offered by Professional Training and Consulting (PTC) in Stone Mountain, Georgia (www.ptctraining.com) ...