Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for the VLS are teachers, training & curriculum specialists, family childcare providers, and new management staff in the military child development and school-age care system. However, in the best tradition of the university land-grant system, the VLS is also available for public use, allowing college students, public and private child care workers and providers to use the site to enhance their skills as child care professionals. The VLS is included in ACF's Early Educator Central which links the VLS to child care professionals outside the military system. The site is now active and all audiences have begun using the site. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We developed a series of trainings for those who will be using the VLS on their installations. We first trained headquarters personnel from each of the four services in a four day training and then began a series of two day trainings for training and curriculum specialists. Eighteen of those trainings have been held. In addition, we developed a master trainer curriculum which involved two face to face trainings and four months of virtual training of a cohort of 24 Master Trainers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Within the military system, the VLS has been promoted by DOD and the services to their personnel. The Administration for Children and Families have included the VLS in newsletters and have made it a major part of Early Educator Central. Ohio State University featured a story on the VLS in a 2016alumni magazine that was distributed to thousands of alumni. Presentations on the VLS have been made at the Military Child Education Coalition National Training Seminar, the Council for Professional Recognition Leadership Conference, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Virtual Laboratory Schoolnow consists of 15core content courses and supporting video for each of five tracks (Infant/Toddler, Preschool, School age, Training and Curriculum Specialists, Management). Eight courses in the family care provider track were completed as well as as well as a training curriculum to support training and curriculum specialists implementing the Virtual Laboratory School system in their programs. Back end databases and programming for the customized learning management system as well as the development of additional tools for use on the website were completed. In addition, the OSU VLS team conducted 14 training sessions for DOD employed personnel resulting in more than 600 training and curriculum specialists being prepared for implementing the Virtual Lab School professional development system. We also completed three special topics courses (Social Emotional Learning for Teachers, Gender Safe Spaces, and Essential Skills for Food Service Workers). In addition, the OSU VLS team collected feedback from the training and curriculum specialist during the face to face trainings and conducted a pilot with 20 family care providers that included pre and post knowledge assessments, feedback during use, satisfaction surveys at pilot end as well as focus groups. The VLS website also allows for immediate feedback from end users.Feedback from direct care users, training and curriculum specialists, and military leadership was overwhelmingly positive.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for the VLS are teachers, training & curriculum specialists, and new management staff in the military child development and school-age care system. However, in the best tradition of the university land-grant system, the VLS is also available for public use as well, allowing college students, public and private child care workers and providers to use the site to enhance their skills as child care professionals. The VLS is included in ACF's Early Educator Central which links the VLS to child care professionals outside the military system. The site is now active and all audiences have begun using the site. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We developed a series of trainings for those who will be using the VLS on their installations. We first trained headquarters personnel from each of the four services in a four day training and then began a series of two day trainings for training and curriculum specialists. Two of those trainings occurred in this reporting period.Sixteen additional trainings are planned for the coming year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Within the military system, the VLS has been promoted by DOD and the services to their personnel. The Administration for Children and Families have included the VLS in newsletters and have made it a major part of Early Childhood Central. Ohio State University featured a story on the VLS in an alumni magazine that was distributed to thousands of alumni. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period we will complete the Family Care Provider track courses and conduct sixteen two-day trainings for the DOD. We will also develop a master trainer curriculum/training and train an initial cohort of trainers to be regional support persons in the military setting.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
• Creation of a robust online learning management platform that supports the primary purpose of the system to provide service branch customized professional development to military center-based personnel and well as providing public access to the created content. The system includes back end features that allow for multiple military and expert reviewers to provide comment on content under review; registration, assignment, tracking and dashboard features that support reflective supervision and training and management oversight of registered learners; automatic adjustments to video quality in response to different internet speeds; multi-platform displays (e.g., desktop, tablet, mobile device); and video use tools (storage, search, identification) for use by content developers. The flexible system supports the Core Content (15 courses), Specialized and Partnered Content (future development), and the birth to five DOD classroom curriculum being developed at Purdue. • Creation of research-based content that conforms to a Learn, Explore, Apply, Demonstrate (LEAD) framework and the Know, See, Do approach to the Learn content narrative. Content is aligned across the 5 existing tracks. The OSU team has written 75 courses (15 for each of the 5 tracks) averaging 5 video supported lessons per course, totaling more than 375 lessons and more than 600 narrated videos. VLS team members have traveled to more than 25 military installations to record video that supports course content. • Development of an offline assessment package that includes a knowledge assessment for each Core Content course and a corresponding observation tool that trainers and supervisors can use for systematic observations in the classroom that allow them to assess mastery of course content. • A pilot of selected course content with military users. • Cooperative meetings and conversations with the curriculum team at Purdue and with external initiatives (e.g., the ACF Early Educators Central portal, which is now live and includes a link the VLS), and multiple presentations to external audiences. In 2016, we developed and began a series of face to face trainings with training and curriculum specialists charged with implementing the VLS on installations. We conducted three trainings with DOD and service personnel thus far and have fourteen more scheduled in the coming year. Feedback on the VLS has been extrememly positive. Those attending trainings have been enthusiastic about the material and format. In addition, entities outside the military are praising the content and recommending its use.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for the VLS are teachers, training & curriculum specialists, and new management staff in the military child and youth development system. However, in the best tradition of the university land-grant system, when fully implemented, the VLS will also be available for public use as well, allowing college students, public and private child care workers and providers to use the site to enhance their skills as child care professionals. The creation of the virtual laboratory school will allow military trainers, as well as professors and other instructors at land grant universities to avoid assigning hours of inefficient student observations by providing a searchable site that allows users to view any number of situations or instances that they may or may not see in a typical lab school setting. Lastly, as the site is fully implemented, extension faculty and staff at land grant universities will also benefit through the availability of these learning lessons to be packaged and distributed statewide in support of child care providers in non-military settings. During this phase, the VLS was reviewed by child and family policy leaders in the DOD and the military services. In July of 2015, the VLS was added to ACF's Early Educator Central Portal. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In June, 2015, we provided a two day training for 80 Training and Curriculum Specialists and Child Development Center Directors. The training featured presentations on some of the research that supports the VLS and provided an introduction to the VLS system. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the training event held for military child care professionals, the VLS was included in the Early Educator Central website,two press releasese/articles were written for the ACF child care newsletter, and Dr. Buettner presented on a workshop on the VLS at NAEYC. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The following objectives are articulated for next reporting phase of the project. Complete military review and publish the final 3 courses (Self and Cultural Understanding, Program Management, and Professionalism) of the Core Content for each of the five center-based tracks (15 courses in total). Continuedevelopment of the family care provider track (13 courses) aimed at providers who care for children in their homes. This phase will include military review of the courses as they are completed. Refinement of learner and administrative dashboards as well as development of website use tutorials. Planning and execution of a military installation technical/implementation pilot, including development of a detailed implementation plan with installation personnel, registration and assignment of personnel to the system, consultation and technical support for installation staff and collection of formative feedback on technical needs and implementation successes and challenges. Planning and implementation of a series of regional VLS implementation training events.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The following has been accomplished: Creation of a robust online learning management platform that supports the primary purpose of the system to provide service branch customized professional development to military center-based personnel and well as providing public access to the created content. The system includes back end features that allow for multiple military and expert reviewers to provide comment on content under review; registration, assignment, tracking and dashboard features that support reflective supervision and training and management oversight of registered learners; automatic adjustments to video quality in response to different internet speeds; multi-platform displays (e.g., desktop, tablet, mobile device); and video use tools (storage, search, identification) for use by content developers. The flexible system supports the Core Content (15 courses), Specialized and Partnered Content (future development), and the birth to five DOD classroom curriculum being developed at Purdue. Creation of research-based content that conforms to a Learn, Explore, Apply, Demonstrate (LEAD) framework and the Know, See, Do approach to the Learn content narrative. Content is aligned across the 5 existing tracks. The OSU team has written 75 courses (15 for each of the 5 tracks) averaging 5 video supported lessons per course, totaling more than 375 lessons and more than 600 narrated videos. VLS team members have traveled to more than 20 military installations to record video that supports course content. Development of an offline assessment package that includes a knowledge assessment for each Core Content course and a corresponding observation tool that trainers and supervisors can use for systematic observations in the classroom that allow them to assess mastery of course content. A pilot of selected course content with military users. The pilot conducted in 2014 included a pre- post-test of knowledge, a satisfaction survey, and focus groups with direct care, training and curriculum specialists, and management groups. Results were shared with DOD leadership via a written report and were used to inform implementation plans. Cooperative meetings and conversations with the curriculum team at Purdue and with external initiatives (e.g., the ACF Early Educators Central portal, which is now live and includes a link the VLS), and multiple presentations to external audiences.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences for the VLS are teachers, training & curriculum specialists, and new management staff in the military child and youth development system. However, in the best tradition of the university land-grant system, the VLS is also available for public use as well, allowing college students, public and private child care workers and providers to use the site to enhance their skills as a child care professional. In the coming year, the virtual laboratory school will also add a track for the home-based care providers. Because the VLS courses are still under development, the VLS has not yet been fully deployed to these audiences. Beginning courses were, however, successfully piloted with staff at a military installation in the past year and the VLS has been introduced to officials at the Administration for Children and Families, who distributed an article on the VLS in their newsletter. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The project director and lead scientists conducted a workshop on the use of the VLS at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference. The pilots of the VLS system provided training to over 70 personnel working at military child development centers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Since the VLS is still under development, extensive dissemination has not taken place. However, we have had conversations with senior officials at the HHS Adminstration for Children and Families (ACF), and we wrote an article about the VLS for the ACF newsletter. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will continue to produce new courses and we will refine materials based on pilot feedback. In the coming reporting period, we will be engaged in significant promotion efforts on behalf of the VLS.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The VLS project team developed additional VLS courses and related materials for military review and eventual deployment.To date, courses in Safety, Cognitive Development, Child Abuse Prevention, Child Abuse Reporting, Healthy, Learning Environments, Communication, Physical Development, and Creativity, Guidance, and Self have been created and are in various stages of review/revision. Two pilots have been conducted at military child development centers and feedback was positive. The website continues to be refined and features brought online. We produced a promotional video for the site. It can be seen at www.virtuallabschool.org. We also developed a PSA video at the request of the DoD that promotes family style dining.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Buettner, C.K. & Meeker, K. (November, 2014) Going Online with Professional Development: The Virtual Laboratory School. Oral presentation at the National Association for the Education of Young Children annual conference, Dallas, Texas.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
www.virtuallabschool.org
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences for the VLS are teachers, training & curriculum specialists, and new management staff in the military child and youth development system. However, in the best tradition of the university land-grant system, when fully implemented, the VLS will also be available for public use as well, allowing college students, public and private child care workers and providers to use the site to enhance their skills as child care professionals. The creation of the virtual laboratory school will allow military trainers, as well as professors and other instructors at land grant universities to avoid assigning hours of inefficient student observations by providing a searchable site that allows users to view any number of situations or instances that they may or may not see in a typical lab school setting. Lastly, as the site is fully implemented, extension faculty and staff at land grant universities will also benefit through the availability of these learning lessons to be packaged and distributed statewide in support of child care providers in non-military settings. During this development phase, the VLS was reviewed by child and family policy leaders in the DOD and the military services. Changes/Problems: Two competencies (child abuse prevention and child abuse reporting) were added by the Department of Defense to the content areas covered by the VLS. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will continue generating content and refining technical systems. We are in constant communication with the leadership at the Department of Defense regarding the writing and review timeline and the needs of the end users.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Content and video support for four of the core 13 compentencies has been completed as well as two additional competencies (child abuse prevention and child abuse reporting) that were added this year at the request of the Department of Defense. These six competencies (representing 30 courses and hundreds of lessons across the five current tracks - infant/toddler, preschool, school-age, training and curriculum specialists, and managment) are currently at various stages of military and expert review. The user interface of the VLS was refined and, along with the content for two competencies, is currently being reviewed/piloted at Wright Patterson AFB. We are collecting user feedback on both the interface and the content during July and August 2013 through online feedback surveys and in-person focus group interviews.
Publications
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