In order for children to receive the best in quality care, early childhood teachers must have a deep understanding of child development and developmentally appropriate teaching methodologies that can only be acquired through accessible and sustainable professional development. This type of professional development for many students comes in the form of web-based course technologies. To this end, this exploratory study sought to identify the perceptions of early childhood education students with regard to community college distance education courses. Multi-factor ANOVA and correlation analysis was performed on participants' responses to an online survey. Results of this study showed the majority of early childhood students have access to computers in the home as well as high speed Internet. Furthermore, while students were satisfied with online learning environments, the lack of social interaction was identified as the least favorite part of participating in distance education courses. Interestingly, students reported frustration with the amount of coursework in web-based courses when compared to traditional courses. It would appear students are beginning to identify disparities among teaching methodologies between course delivery methods, thus supporting the need for continued research in the area of best practices in online course development. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]