Kellie Alston

About Kellie Alston

Hi, I am Kellie Alston and thank you for viewing my profile. I am a passionate and skilled teacher educator who gets up every single day excited about the opportunity to shape and influence America’s future early childhood educators. For over two decades, I have actively served the field of education in an array of positions, and currently, I enjoy being a distance education lecturer at North Carolina Central University. My mission is to not only impact the field of education as a teacher of future teachers but to also support my colleagues in higher education in mastering the art of teaching online using the six pillars of my Virtual Village Distance Learning System. Let’s face it. Distance learning has become a big deal in the 21st century with over 6 million students taking courses online. In fact, the distance education annual growth rate of almost 13% has surpassed the overall higher education growth rate which is just shy of 2%. After spending over15 years honing my own course design and delivery skills at a four-year university, I am now passionate about ensuring that online courses, especially in teacher education, provide a comparable or even higher quality of learning than traditional face-to-face courses. As a result, I have created a professional development site for online faculty at Virtualgogy.com and devote much of my time to studying instructional design and best practices in online pedagogy. If you are a \"virtual educator\", I would love to teach you how to create a Virtual Village where students love to communicate, collaborate, and co-create- a place where learning commanders are cultivated and enter their fields equipped for the global marketplace. I am confident that I can show you exactly how to create online courses that your students enjoy AND that you love to teach. Visit me at my virtual home. Let\'s create dynamic learning communities online.together. See you soon!

Experience

1. Distance Education Lecturer & Course Developer, Early Childhood Education

   North Carolina Central University

   Jun 2004 — Present

   I facilitate and design online courses for prospective teachers seeking a first degree or current teachers aspiring to earn a second degree or licensure in early childhood education. Advising undergraduates and serving as a university supervisor/mentor for student teachers is also a part of the job. Courses include: Reading and Research in Early Childhood Education; Families, Professionals and the Community; Assessment and Evaluation in ECE; Language and Literacy in ECE; Preschool and Kindergarten Program Development; Infant and Toddler Program Development; Guiding Behavior In Young Children; Typical and Atypical Preschool Development; Prenatal, Infant, and Toddler Development; Introduction to the Education of the Young Child; and Practicum in Preschool and Kindergarten Program Development. In this position, I use the Blackboard Learning Management System, including Blackboard Collaborate, to make teaching interactive, synchronous, and engaging. In some courses, students participate in cooperative learning groups via the virtual classroom setting, completing 3-4 group projects per semester. Audio and video are also used to create weekly announcements, instructor tips, instructional videos, and tutorials.

Education

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  M. Ed., Curriculum & Instruction, Reading Concentration

  1999 — 2001

• Winston-Salem State University

  B.S., Elementary Education

  1989 — 1993

• Keiser University

  Ph.D., Instructional Design and Technology

  2017 — 2022