UNLIKE most parents of many generations ago, mums and dads these days are more likely to keep abreast of what junior learns in class.

That is one reason why pre-school teacher Adeline Koh went high-tech in her teaching last year, by creating a website for her school, PAP Community Foundation Kindergarten, at Block 261, Tampines East.

She uploads photographs of her pupils at play onto the website, which is accessible to parents only via password log-in.

She blogs about school events, like the sports day, and she uploads video links of kids' songs so that parents can learn them too.

"Based on their feedback, parents want to be more involved in their children's learning," said Miss Koh, 39.

She was inspired to set up the website after she enrolled in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Management programme at SIM University (UniSIM), which started in January last year.

"During the programme, we were taught how to use technology and e-learning in our teaching. So I thought, 'why not use technology for my school children too?'" said the bubbly teacher.

Miss Koh, who has taught for 20 years, has a Diploma in Early Years Teaching from the National Institute of Education.

Now in her second year of the UniSIM programme, she has covered a wide range of topics related to early childhood teaching.

For example, she has learnt that building a playground requires specialised knowledge and understanding of child development and learning, as well as appropriate designs. For an assignment, she researched on playgrounds here and overseas.

"We have to look at the type of materials used, as well as safety elements such as how far away the swing should be from the concrete floor in case the child falls," she said.

The UniSIM programme has inspired her to customise a curriculum that would appeal to children.

For example, a lesson on nature is not limited to outdoor walks. If the kids are into words, she would get them to write a poem about nature. If her charges are into art, they would work on art-and-craft projects related to the topic.

"When the children have a say in how they want to learn, they tend to be more interested in what they do and will participate more actively in class," Miss Koh explained.

Besides early childhood curriculum, the UniSIM programme also includes management courses, such as those on organisational behaviour, in which students learn about personality traits and teamwork.

Said Miss Koh: "We learn how to organise children into groups based on their personalities, as certain personalities tend to get along better."

Riding on the success of its Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Management programme, UniSIM has launched another degree, the Bachelor of Early Childhood and Chinese Language Education, which will start in July.

This new programme will be taught in Mandarin. UniSIM is the first local university to offer an early childhood education degree in this medium.

Said Dr Theresa Lu, head of programme of Early Childhood Education at UniSIM: "There has been a growing interest from the early childhood education sector on how we can help to promote positive learning of the Chinese language for children."

Miss Koh has become more confident since she started on the UniSIM programme.

"With the knowledge and skills that I am acquiring, I feel more confident when interacting with parents," she said.

THE newly launched Bachelor of Early Childhood and Chinese Language Education aims to equip Chinese Language pre-school teachers with enhanced skills to teach the mother tongue to young children.

UniSIM is the first local university to offer the Bachelor of Early Childhood and Chinese Language Education.

The programme combines early childhood content, Chinese Language studies and pedagogical methods.

The degree would help diploma holders in pre-school teaching to upgrade their academic qualifications.

Meanwhile, the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Management aims to integrate two fields - early childhood education and business management.

Graduates of this programme can look forward to a broad spectrum of career opportunities in the growing early childhood education industry.

Besides teaching and leadership positions, graduates also have career options in professions such as enrichmentprogramme specialists, operations managers, and marketing executives in early childhood education programmes.

The Bachelor of Early Childhood and Chinese Language Education programme at UniSIM is offered in partnership with Seed Institute, a leading provider of continuing education for early childhood professionals in Singapore, and the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language.

The School of Human Development and Social Services at UniSIM also offers the following programmes:

Accelerated Bachelor of Social Work

Bachelor of Social Work

Bachelor of Counselling

Bachelor of Human Resource Management

For more information or to sign up for one of UniSIM's programmes, call 6248-9777 or visit www.unisim.edu.sg