Taking notes, enjoying a cup of coffee, and following the instruction online at your desk or kitchen table while remaining in the comfortable surroundings of your home environment enhances the learning experience
The change from in-person to online classes
In April, we began offering the Certified Aging In Place Specialist (“CAPS”) designation program in an online, real-time format. This broke away from the traditional model of only in-person live classes. Not sure how they would work out or how well they might be received at first, they were an instant hit and continue to grow in popularity.
People have attended the online classes from a variety of time zones from all parts of the United States (coast-to-coast), as well as attendees from Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America. Represented have been remodeling contractors, custom builders, occupational therapists, physical therapists, mobility equipment specialists, insurance agents, non-profit organizations, senior services, governmental agencies groups, university faculty, real estate agents, interior designers, kitchen and bath designers, property managers, architects, engineers, installers, lighting specialists, entrepreneurs, and so many other professions that desire to help people remain at home effectively.
The response has been outstanding
With the introduction of the online format – taught in a real-time, live, interactive format as opposed to a pre-recorded, follow-along webinar – the enrollment has increased dramatically, as well it should. People are looking for alternatives to traveling, going into strange environments, and being around other people.
The future is always is unknown to us – the directions it might take and what may come our way. However, we are intending, and been given permission to offer the CAPS classes online through the end of 2021, if not well beyond that. Even if there weren’t the uncertainties with some businesses and events not opening as yet, some using reduced schedules, and many people who were reporting to their place of work are now working from home (“WFH”), we are extremely comfortable and pleased with the response to teaching the classes online.
Continuing online classes even when we return to normal
Over the next few months, will the virus make a comeback as many are suggesting? Will there be more workplace adjustment as a result? Will we return to a degree of normalcy or is this becoming the “new normal?” People are leery of being in crowds in public spaces so this attitude adjustment may be long-term if not permanent. Thus, online learning has surged.
Remote learning experienced a degree of popularity in the past, and people were requesting that the CAPS courses be offered online. That has been done. Now, there is no reason to put off taking these classes. Find a date that works for you and enroll!
A few weeks ago, I published “11 Reasons For Taking The Certified Aging In Place Classes Online – While You Still Can” not knowing how long this program might continue. That we know it will be around for a while, here are some more to add to your thinking process:
- Travel continues to be the biggie (and not just air travel), meaning the elimination of stress driving to the class dealing with road closures, broken or disabled vehicles, traffic jams and slowdowns, emergency response vehicles for accidents, flat tires, check engine lights, school zones, and people in front of us not driving fast enough for our liking,
- No commuting to the meeting, whether local or miles away, means that there is no need to build in extra time to arrive on time,
- Taking classes at home, in familiar surroundings, means that refreshments are handy and that the kids and dogs can still be looked after as necessary,
- Waking up with a stomach ache, headache, or some other feeling of malaise might be enough to have us skip getting in the car and driving to a meeting, but all we need to do is show up – even if we are feeling less than one hundred percent (we can even attend in non-video mode if necessary),
- On the subject of not feeling well, it could be a family member that we are hesitant to leave on their own for the day so we can at home with them and still take the classes, leaving the presentation briefly as necessary to check on them,
- It’s extremely irritating and upsetting to arrive at a meeting only to discover that we have forgotten something important – our purse, wallet, or phone – or that we are unsure if we left instructions for a repair person, locked the door, or performed other last-minute safety checks as we were leaving home,
- Best of all, the classroom information is presented in a very interactive way that is even better than an in-person format – not a pre-recorded webinar to sit through or a slide series to watch and attempt to remain interested in it but an actual live event with questions, comments, discussion, and interaction.
Definitely, taking the CAPS certification classes online makes sense for these, and even other, reasons. Visit my website for a schedule of upcoming dates and registration information. Take advantage of this great learning opportunity.