Learner Link – Durham County Increasing Access to Early Childhood College Courses Durham’s Partnership for Children Child Care Services Association Durham Technical Community College FPG Child Development Institute Funded by The Wachovia Corporation, NCPC Private Grant Pool IBM Corporation in-kind donation of IBM ThinkPads Durham’s Partnership for Children January 19, 2006

Learner Link Goal Build the capacity of the County to sustain the ongoing provision of online learning as a professional development strategy.

Learner Link Objectives Increase access to college education Increase capacity of early childhood departments Increase capacity of community college early childhood faculty Increase availability of online teaching & learning Improve state’s ability to offer online ECE degree

Why is this important? Research link between Teacher Education and Classroom Quality Teacher Education and Positive Teacher/Child Interactions Teacher Education and Child Outcomes Teacher Education and Teacher Salaries Early childhood teaching in the public eye What it means to be a professional

Project Partners & Roles Durham Technical Community College Durham’s Partnership for Children Child Care Services Association FPG Child Development Institute Community Child Care Service Providers Quality Improvement Participants Child Care Community Higher Education Community Business Community

Partnership’s Role Funder & fiscal agent of project Staff Support, conveners Meeting Space Coordination of Effort Connection of Partners Community Outreach Technology Plan for Access to Education for Child Care Community

DTCC’s Role Identify Participants Train Faculty Increase access to education through college resources Provide Computer & Internet Skills to the child care population Participate in the development of the technology access plan Pilot two distance learning courses

CCSA’s Role Identifying Sites Creating Professional Development Plans/Connecting Students to Financial Aid Options Data Collection Assisting with DTCC enrollment of students Participate in the development of the technology access plan

FPG’s Role Coordinating Project Components Development of the technology access plan Train the Trainer C&I Training Data Collection Faculty Training Community Resource Development

Learner Link - Durham Strategies & Timeline Information Sessions – 2005 & 2006 Student Meeting – Fall 2005 Community Agency Training – October 2005 Faculty Training – Oct - Dec 2005 Computer & Internet Skills Training– Jan 2006 Online Course Offerings – Jan – May 2006 Technology Plan Development – ongoing Evaluation – spring 2006

Supports Smart Start Perspective Impact of Smart Start Performance Base Incentive Standards (PBIS) Partnerships can serve as a resource to link teachers to other state and federal supports Need for supports that address basic education courses Collaborative approach Use of best practices that build on existing resources

Pursuing Quality Child Care College Scholarships & Wage Incentives Teacher Education Benchmarks for Teacher Education Tiered Licensing System Enhancements through Smart Start

N.C. Workforce Data The teacher turnover rate in North Carolina is currently at 24% 28% of teachers and assistants hold at least a 2-year degree in any field Median wage for teachers and assistants is $8.00/hour Source: The North Carolina Child Care Workforce Survey, 2003

Teacher Education: Community College Demand Student Enrollment 4,000+ to 14,

Where are teachers learning? On Campus, Off Campus,Online!

What is Distance Education? Accessing a college course or training On the World Wide Web (Internet) Hybrid Courses (seated & web work) NC Information Highway (broadband transmission) College by Cassette On Television (telecourses) North Carolina Community College System

Distance Learning Has Arrived… According the the Sloan Foundation… Quality equivalent or better than on site courses Number served online growing by 20% annually Approximately 1.9 million students nationally studying online, 2003 Public institutions largest providers (89%) Two year IHEs have largest # of students taking at least one online course Two year IHEs serve 50%+/- total online students Entering the Mainstream, The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 & 2004

Demand for Distance Options is Growing

Distance Education Provides Additional Challenges for Non-Tech Workforce Slow to embrace technology as education source Low literacy levels Lack of student computer skills Need for up-to-date computer equipment Need to update Virtual Learning Community courses to reflect EC standards Enormous workloads for community college faculty Lack of time to learn & teach more courses…at a distance

Online Course Orientation Accessed Online Pre-Course Automatic Submission into Course(s) Course Demonstration Distance Learning Knowledge & Skills Quiz for Baseline Score -- Faculty Use Supplement … additional tools & supports

Sample Course

Quality Distance Learning Characteristics Assessment of Need Provision of Resources to Address Needs Active Learning Opportunities Multiple Access Points for Information Multiple Interaction Points for Students Planned Pace with built-in motivators Design to foster depth of understanding Multiple Ways to Demonstrate Knowledge Multiple Modes of Evaluation

Learner Link Progress to Support Distance Learning Students chosen & enrolled Multiple contacts from all partners TA/Faculty trained Two hybrid online courses offered January students obtained computer removing a major barrier

Next Steps …Support Online Students

Learner Link Continuing Strategies to Support Distance Learning Use Technology Access Plan to support resource development Increase online offerings at DTCC Post-gathering to share results & formulate next steps

Learner Link – Durham County Increasing Access to Early Childhood College Courses Durham’s Partnership for Children Child Care Services Association Durham Technical Community College FPG Child Development Institute Funded by The Wachovia Corporation, NCPC Private Grant Pool IBM Corporation in-kind donation of IBM ThinkPads Durham’s Partnership for Children January 19, 2006