Project History

    Montessori Live is pioneering a relatively new model of distance education: video-based learning. Video has been around for many years, but streaming its content over the Internet has only recently become affordable and widely supported by accompanying upgrades in high-speed Internet connectivity. Montessori Live is committed to developing programs based on best practice in distance learning as well as in Montessori professional development.

    Montessori Live first began development in the summer of 2005 with two ideas in mind. The first was to assemble a streaming video-based online lesson library to support Montessori educators across the globe. The second was to record the legacy of Montessori history through filming leaders of the Montessori movement.

    In 2006, Montessori Live created our first training courses in philosophy and observation. In 2009, the online component of the training program was completed with two foundational courses and seven curriculum courses in mathematics, language arts, and cultural studies for teachers of children ages 5 through 10. In 2010, two face-to-face residencies, totaling 120 clock hours, were added to comply with MACTE requirements for distance programs.

    Montessori Live formally applied to MACTE in the fall of 2009 and received accreditation in July of 2011 as one of the first distance programs to serve the Montessori community. The video library and training course include over 120+ hours of edited video divided into 1,300 separate streaming video segments, called learning objects. The project has been a tremendous journey of creativity, determination, flexibility, false starts, happy coincidences, and just plain luck.

    Training Montessori educator via distance is a new model with many exciting possibilities. Research has shown that it is not the medium but the instructional methodology that makes the difference. As we  pioneer this model of instruction, our experience will support the growth and sustainability of the Montessori community around the world. Montessori Live is a part of Island Village Montessori School, a public non-profit charter school, founded in 2001, and located in Sarasota County, Florida, USA.

    The future of Montessori Live is to assist the Montessori global community in providing multiple avenues for professional development, Montessori certification, graduate programs, as well as alternative certification for Montessori educators in the public sector.

    Our member newsletter will keep you current with regard to our progress. We look forward to having you join our online community! Thanks for coming this far!

Kym Elder
 
Project Founder and Director
Montessori Live
 
Founder and Development Director
Island Village Montessori Charter School