Online And In The Workplace

Due to an important change in state law, Gary McHenry, director of education at the UAMS/Schmieding Center in Springdale, knew his agency would have to enhance its ability to train an increasing number of in-home caregivers for the elderly.

Act 1410, passed by the Arkansas Legislature last year, requires 40 hours of training for all paid direct caregivers to those 50 years of age and older. The training, which covers a broad range of subjects that includes body functions, safety, nutrition and housekeeping, is mandatory for a population of workers that until April 1 did not have to be certified.

The intent of the legislation, triggered by the ongoing “silver tsunami” of the aging Baby Boomer generation, in which 10,000 people a day over a 19-year span are expected to turn 65, is to equip foot soldiers on the frontlines of what is shaping up to be an epic health-care crisis. 

The catch is that Baby Boomers are healthier and more active than their forebears and they expect to stay in their homes longer. As that dynamic unfolds, more and more sons and daughters will care for their parents at their residences, not visit them at nursing homes.

For McHenry, that meant putting the Schmieding Center’s tried and true in-home assistant training program, or IHA, in front of as many people as possible and making it as convenient as possible for students to take. To do that, he needed to put the traditional face-to-face course on the Internet.

It was an easy decision for McHenry. He approached the University of Arkansas Global Campus, where he had worked prior to joining UAMS, and asked if they could do it. The answer was yes. With the aid of a three-year, $3.6 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and after four months of construction, the program went live in March.

“It’s landmark for us,” McHenry said. “We feel like this is going to be the way we meet the challenge of 10,000 people turning 65 each day.”

 

Growing Niche

Building the Schmieding Center’s online IHA program, meant for real-world training rather than academia, was a change of pace for the Global Campus staff.

Designers like Miran Kang and Jessica Shabatura, who were hunched over their computers crunching out the technology end of the program, had to employ HTML to build and style the course in Blackboard, create custom vector illustrations, and author and edit video and audio content. Most importantly, they had to achieve pedagogy — conveying information to the end user so that it can be absorbed and measured.

Kang, director of instructional design and support services for the Global Campus, said she and her staff are not trying to recreate a standard learning environment, even for professional development programs like the one for Schmieding.

“For thousands of years, education has taken place in the same kind of setting,” she said. “We’re trying to do something new.”

Shabatura, who earned her master’s in educational technology online while living in Eureka Springs, wholeheartedly agreed.

“The misconception is that we’re trying to create a classroom online,” she said.

While the Schmieding program represents more of a niche operation for the Global Campus, it’s clear that the creation of learning management systems for clients outside the traditional academic framework will be an increasing focus.

Judith Tavano, Global Campus director of professional development, said more projects are in the pipeline but would not say who they’re with. However, she confirmed that Global Campus is in talks with “organizations of varying sizes, from large to mid-sized companies and at least one nonprofit.” She also confirmed that the companies represent a broad range that includes manufacturing, logistics and food.

“I envision more and more private sector companies putting training programs online,” Tavano said. “What I see coming our way is the need for either subject matter expertise or technology they may not have in-house. There are others that have no in-house resources and are looking to us to offer their training online.”

 

Upward Mobility

The Global Campus and the university as a whole are powered by Blackboard, the industry leader in educational technology. Hosted by five cloud-based application servers dedicated to Blackboard, the software has the capacity to handle an enormous amount of usage.

The Global Campus started using the software over 10 years ago, and between the two primary applications, Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate, has what it needs to offer professional development on everything from small business seminars, human resources, record retention and project management.

Chris Bray, the university’s Blackboard administrator who last year was designated a Blackboard MVP by the company due to his vast knowledge of the software, swears by it.

And as is the case in the world of technology, change is constant. The good news, he said, is that improvements are on the way that will enhance the software’s interface, speed and responsiveness.

The biggest hurdle in terms of usage is that no two computers are the same, he said, referring to differences between Mac and Windows, and among browsers, operating systems and settings.

Regardless of the typical problems users might have from time to time, the software, which is adapted to mobile devices, is here to stay and from today and into the future, it will support a vast universe of users.

Tavano said there is a true hunger in the market for professional development and that people will do whatever it takes to enroll in and complete courses. She said one student was so eager finish a course that he took a lesson on his mobile phone while driving out of town to a conference.

While Tavano does not advocate education over personal safety, she pointed to the anecdote as a way of illustrating the popularity of technology-based education for those already in the workplace.

“Non-credit, professional development offers working adults the opportunity to master skills, add knowledge and achieve and maintain professional certifications,” she said. “Professional development is a continuing path to upward mobility.”

 

From Public to Private

While professional development has always been geared toward those already in the workforce, the essence of the Global Campus is still academia. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the Greenhouse Management program, born in the Dale Bumpers School of Agriculture five years ago.

First offered as an online academic course shared by UA, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University and Oklahoma State University as part of the ACCEPtS initiative, the greenhouse course soon outgrew its original audience.

A year after its implantation with the universities, it was concurrently offered as a non-credit course for people who wanted the knowledge but did not need, or want, to enroll in school. 

Course instructor Michael Evans, a UA professor of horticulture, said: “There was a big need and desire for the course. People didn’t want the credit. They wanted the training.”

As many as 72 people have completed the $650 course, and enrollees have logged in from as far away as New Zealand and Denmark. Those who take the 16-week course are getting the real thing, not a watered-down version of what’s offered to the universities.

“The person who is taking it for non-credit is getting the same thing as the for-credit students,” Evans said. “This is not a course for, ‘I want to play with plants.’ This is math and chemistry. This is 20 acres of hydroponic tomatoes.”

The demographic taking the course includes business owners, teachers and tech reps, among others. Evans said he suspects that there is more demand for online horticulture courses and wouldn’t be surprised if more come online at some point in the future.

A devotee of online instruction and what it represents, Evans said the Greenhouse Management course is a great example of its kind. Loaded with text, photos and images, interactive links and video, the online course, he said, is miles better than the standard lecture-and-notes structure of yesteryear.

“People used to look at online as not as good as live,” he said. “But this is a better course than a sit-in-the-classroom course.”

Though the convenience factor of online courses, which can accommodate work schedules and logistics, is important, it’s not the only element that gives online so much upside. Unlike a lecture that takes place at a particular place and time, the assortment of online material is there for students to revisit and absorb.

While the Global Campus might still be growing into its role as a provider of online training for entities outside of academia, its role in the lives of working parents and professionals has reached the point where it’s a welcome addition to mainstream life.

Tavano sees it every day.

“If I am to paint a picture of our typical student, I would say he or she is a working adult who struggles to find time to add learning into his or her life,” she said. “Our students use all types of media to participate in our offerings. They don’t need to sit in front of a computer. They can take our online classes anytime, anywhere using mobile technologies. Currently, we have students all over the world.”