HDI has reached a notable milestone of 100 online courses, including 4 in development! HDI launched online learning initiative for early childhood in 2004 with the 6-hour ECOOL training for early childhood and education providers. HDI’s early education online courses began to grow rapidly in 2012 to include online courses about ways to provide safe and inclusive environments for all children. By 2014, online learning started to be utilized for health issues and for K12 education in 2015. Now, the courses cover an array of topics, including early childhood education (31), K12 Special Education (24), training for early care and education trainers (22), medical training (11), transition education (7), training for children’s libraries (3), health education initiatives (1), and departmental education (1). Check out all the courses in our Online Learning Center!
The HDI Learning Center has grown as our staff have seen the potential for reaching a wider audience. Our online courses use innovative and non-traditional assessment of learner knowledge, using active learning principles. In addition, we strive to provide the most accessible training, using universal design principles and ensuring content can be accessed across multiple devices and browsers. —Patti Singleton, Professional Learning Coordinator
In 2018, HDI also began using a new learning management system (LMS) to streamline the courses and make them more accessible through LearnDash. Since HDI launched the new LMS in November 2018, 27,000 users have enrolled in at least one course. In addition, 10,000 orders have been placed to take courses. and 15,000 courses have been purchased. This LMS helps ensure that the courses are universally designed for all audiences, and the system provides a range of options for instructional design. In fact, HDI is also consulting with other departments at the University of Kentucky on how they can build their online learning options for the broader community.
The work of our early childhood projects spurred on our ability to develop and grow an online learning management system that is both highly accessible and adheres to high quality standards. Having content for 100 training efforts is truly a milestone, and highlights the need and interest of various professional and community audiences to access content on the go, as needed, and on demand. Patti Singleton and Matt Renfroe have done a tremendous job in leading us on this journey. I have a feeling we will have 200 modules and courses available not too far down the road! —Kathy Sheppard-Jones, HDI Executive Director