Empowering early childhood teachers for program completion through the integration of technology

Political and social pressures, influenced by research on the importance of early learning experiences, are putting pressure on the early childhood workforce to go back to school to complete required certification or degrees. Online programs are effective solutions when they include a multi-layered system of supports. This chapter showcases how one university has built and maintained an early childhood program that allows fully online and face-to-face delivery options for completing bachelor's degrees or certification. Lessons learned will help other early childhood teacher education programs know how to (1) build the technological infrastructure behind successful online programs to ensure student persistence and completion;(2) provide instructor and course supports for successful online course completion, including field-based courses and student teaching;and (3) incorporate student supports that enable early childhood teachers to utilize technology successfully to complete their program. Adjustments and technological supports during the COVID-19 pandemic will also be addressed. © 2021, IGI Global.

Brain and Lung Imaging Correlation in Patients with COVID-19: Could the Severity of Lung Disease Reflect the Prevalence of Acute Abnormalities on Neuroimaging? A Global Multicenter Observational Study.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to study the association between abnormal findings on chest and brain imaging in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and neurologic symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective, international multicenter study, we reviewed the electronic medical records and imaging of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from March 3, 2020, to June 25, 2020. Our inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with acute neurologic manifestations and available chest CT and brain imaging. The 5 lobes of the lungs were individually scored on a scale of 0-5 (0 corresponded to no involvement and 5 corresponded to >75% involvement). A CT lung severity score was determined as the sum of lung involvement, ranging from 0 (no involvement) to 25 (maximum involvement). RESULTS: A total of 135 patients met the inclusion criteria with 132 brain CT, 36 brain MR imaging, 7 MRA of the head and neck, and 135 chest CT studies. Compared with 86 (64%) patients without acute abnormal findings on neuroimaging, 49 (36%) patients with these findings had a significantly higher mean CT lung severity score (9.9 versus 5.8, P < .001). These patients were more likely to present with ischemic stroke (40 [82%] versus 11 [13%], P < .0001) and were more likely to have either ground-glass opacities or consolidation (46 [94%] versus 73 [84%], P = .01) in the lungs. A threshold of the CT lung severity score of >8 was found to be 74% sensitive and 65% specific for acute abnormal findings on neuroimaging. The neuroimaging hallmarks of these patients were acute ischemic infarct (28%), intracranial hemorrhage (10%) including microhemorrhages (19%), and leukoencephalopathy with and/or without restricted diffusion (11%). The predominant CT chest findings were peripheral ground-glass opacities with or without consolidation. CONCLUSIONS: The CT lung disease severity score may be predictive of acute abnormalities on neuroimaging in patients with COVID-19 with neurologic manifestations. This can be used as a predictive tool in patient management to improve clinical outcome.

Navigating a "New Normal" During the COVID-19 Pandemic: College Student Perspectives of the Shift to Remote Learning

The current COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly shifted institutions of higher education to remote learning environments, which has impacted student learning in unknown ways. The authors surveyed college students to determine how learning was impacted by the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify both the factors that created barriers and the factors that helped students succeed. Results indicate four primary factors-instructional design, instructor interactions, student autonomy and responsibility, and life/environmental factors-intersected to create the student learning environment. Implications for addressing barriers and increasing student success are discussed.