The Value of a Learning Community to Support Telepractice for Infants and Toddlers with Hearing Loss.

For a variety of reasons, professionals are taking greater control over their own professional development and demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning. Online resources and social media outlets have provided new ways for professionals to connect and form learning communities to build core knowledge and set standards of practice. The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management at Utah State University launched a learning community to increase and promote the knowledge base regarding the use of telepractice as an early intervention service delivery model for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. The learning community was comprised of administrators and providers from six programs that were providing early intervention therapeutic services via telepractice. Members employed a variety of mechanisms to support their engagement with one another, including in-person meetings, web-based and phone meetings, and internetbased social media. Evaluation results gathered over a 1-year period showed that individuals reported that they gained new knowledge to guide their efforts. Collective accomplishments of the learning community included refinement of telepractice implementation strategies and the dissemination of new information to the field of early intervention. These outcomes, along with recommendations for the use of learning communities, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]