Online Learning for Early Intervention Professionals: Transition Planning from Early Intervention to School

Abstract

Most states in the U.S. require that early intervention (EI) providers receive ongoing professional education and training. Unfortunately, few education and training programs exist for busy professionals who find it difficult to travel to attend traditional face-to-face classes. An alternative to traditional education is Internet-based online learning. This article describes the development and evaluation of an online learning course entitled Transition Planning from Early Intervention to School. Designed for professionals who provide EI services to children with developmental disabilities and their families, the course is available anytime, anywhere and is fully self-contained, which means it does not rely on an instructor for course delivery. Thirty EI professionals completed a field evaluation of the course in which they completed three modules on topics related to transition planning in EI. Learning was assessed through changes in pretest to posttest scores. Course satisfaction and usability were assessed using a Likert-type survey. Participants increased their pretest to posttest scores by an average of 43% and reported moderate to high overall satisfaction.