UC Distance Learning Program To Kick Off The New Year In A New Language

The University of Cincinnati’s Early Childhood Learning Community (ECLC), a national distance learning program, will begin offering two online courses in Spanish beginning Jan. 17, 2005. ECLC director Lisa Holstrom says the courses on child development and classroom organization and management are part of a video lecture series. Registered students will now be able to order those courses in Spanish on DVD.

The ECLC delivers an online associate’s degree in early childhood education through VHS, CD-Rom and CVD. A $93,000 planning grant from the Head Start Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded last spring, started the process of translating the ECLC courses into Spanish.

The bilingual program will benefit teachers who work in Head Start centers in Hispanic communities. Students taking the online courses in Spanish will be able to contact other Spanish-speaking students online and will be assisted by a bilingual instructor. Holstrom says the entire ECLC degree program will be translated into Spanish by the 2005-2006 academic year.

The ECLC is now accepting registration for the Spanish delivery of the online courses. For more information, call 888-325-2669 or 513-556-2838.