Taking the CAPS Classes online – or other aging in place educational programs we offer – in a real-time, interactive, non-prerecorded format has countless advantages that accommodate your schedule..
The second half of 2021
We are now a couple of weeks into the second half of 2021. July 1st marked the midpoint of the year with twenty-six weeks of opportunities in the history books and 26 weeks of opportunities to go – with 2 more of them finished already. In terms of the CAPS Classes we offer (Certified Aging In Place Specialist), we completed 23 such sets of 3-day classes in the first 26 weeks of the year.
We have two weeks of the second half already completed and are preparing for the next sessions. From now until the week before Christmas, we will be holding CAPS, Universal Design Essentials, “Beyond Your CAPS,” webinars, and even a couple of classes yet to be announced every week. The 3 days of CAPS Classes (CAPS I, CAPS II, and CAPS III) are scheduled for every week. The other classes are sprinkled into the mix, with the popular “Beyond Your CAPS” coming up twice in August.
This will be an extremely active year and one in which almost anyone who desires to receive the available training can do so. There will still be classes in 2022, but we have made it easier than ever for anyone who desires classes this year to find something that matches their availability.
Hassle-free education
Instead of looking for a schedule, to find a location that was convenient to attend, and then matching that with dates the classes are offered against your availability for classes offered and attended in-person, all you need to do now is pick a date or dates to attend and register online to make that happen. Can only attend one class per week or per month due to workload or other scheduling demands on your time? Not a problem. Register for one class at a time as it suits you. So much easier than booking one or more out-of-town classes to make it work one or two days at a time.
I highly recommend that you take the classes in order – CAPS I, II, and III, but there is no requirement that they be taken in the same week or even month. The classes do build upon knowledge in the previous class so that’s why it’s best to take them in their normal progression. Other than that, schedule the classes to match your availability rather than finding available classes and then adjusting your schedule.
Taking the CAPS classes online is a fantastic learning experience. You arrive at the classes relaxed. Sleep until the last minute if you need to, get the kids off to school and other family members ready for their day, walk the dog, and then sit down for your class.
Interruptions are common – and encouraged
Life is not always predictable. That’s one of the things we are learning about and planning for in the CAPS classes themselves – the need to take life’s events in stride and accommodate the changing needs and abilities of our family members, loved ones, neighbors, friends, and clients. Therefore, as events arise during the day – emergencies of various magnitudes, the need to take care of children or pets, attending to older family members, juggling household or office issues (such as scheduling or being present for an urgent or necessary repair or service issue) – we deal with them. After all, life goes on even while we are sitting in the classroom in front of our computers.
In fact, we both welcome and encourage such distractions. These are honest life events that we don’t want to ignore. Our clients can’t so we shouldn’t either. Now we can attend class ans still be at home to attend to the necessities of life.
Rolling with tide
As we have to make adjustments to our schedule to accommodate life’s many demands, illnesses of pets or family members, or household repairs that are an emergency or that can only be scheduled on a particular day, we can roll with them. We don’t have to make a choice between attending (or skipping) a class and being at home to attend to matters there. We can do both – with a little bit of juggling.
If we had registered to attend an in-person class at a location miles away, had booked an airline ticket or had already driven to the location, made our hotel reservations or had already checked in, and then we learned of an urgent matter at home that required (or really needed) us to be there, we would have a logistical quandary and potentially expensive one as well. What to do? Our home response needs us, but we may not be able to get there very quickly aside from missing the class or classes we had already prepared to take. By taking the classes online at home, there are no such issues.
When it is impossible to attend a class as intended, or even if one needs to withdraw from it after starting it – or even if there are connectivity issues that interrupt one’s participation in the class – simply attend the next offering which generally is the following week, or whatever is convenient.
All of our excuses and concerns have been addressed, accounted for, and effectively eliminated.