5 Benefits of Online Training During COVID-19 and Beyond

5 Benefits of Online Training During COVID-19 and Beyond
Resources

January 20, 2021

Resource: Blog Industry: Education, K12
Tags: K12 Education, Staff Training

Over the past decade, many districts have shifted at least some of their professional development activities online. However, many still rely on in-person PD days. While some areas of PD may be better suited for in-person learning environments, there are many opportunities to make the switch to online training to either replace or complement your in-person PD. And during a pandemic, when opportunities for in-person PD are limited, it’s a good time to revisit the benefits of online training. Online training can help you address immediate needs and help you transform your PD beyond COVID-19.

Benefits of Online Training

1. Keep Staff Safe – Staff safety is not generally a top concern when conducting in-person PD, but during a health crisis, the health and safety of your staff becomes a top priority. Online training allows your staff to complete necessary training, from the safety of their homes, and saves you the hassles of navigating the COVID-19 restrictions associated with group gatherings.

2. Provide More Flexibility – During the pandemic, many of your staff are juggling increased responsibilities of working remotely, family caregiving, supporting their own kids who may be learning at home, and more. With online training, staff can complete training at a time, location, and pace that meets their individual needs.

3. Deliver Consistent Training to a Large Number of People – A downside of in-person PD is that it happens at a particular day, time and location, which limits the number of people who can attend. While you may need to train hundreds or even thousands of staff on a specific topic, managing the logistics can be challenging. With online training, you can ensure that everyone has access to the same content. And when more people are able to participate in the training, you increase the chances that you’ll see the desired outcomes of the training across your district.

4. Address a Wider Range of PD Topics – There are some trainings that everyone may need to complete, such as sexual harassment, child abuse mandatory reporting, bullying prevention, and bloodborne pathogens. Online training is an ideal way to deliver these trainings across your organization. But when you partner with a trusted online training provider with a comprehensive library of courses for every department, you’re also able to provide more personalized, targeted PD to specific groups of teachers and staff, without the cost of conducting hundreds of individual workshop sessions.

5. Save Time and Money – With no need for classrooms, live instructors, or physical materials, online courses are typically more affordable than the in-person alternative. With online training, there are no travel costs and no need to pull educators out of the classroom. And when more staff complete required training, you may see a significant reduction in workers’ comp claims and insurance rates.

How Vector Solutions Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System helps you manage and deliver your staff training online, saving you valuable time and money.

  • Access high quality courses on important school safety topics by leading experts, available in one convenient online system, so your staff can easily complete their required training from any location.
  • Customize courses with your own content, and create and deliver your own policies or custom courses through our system.
  • Staff receive notifications of assignments and email reminders, and completions are tracked automatically.

Our Staff Safety & Compliance Course Library includes hundreds of engaging, research-based courses, written by K-12 subject matter experts, in these key categories:  Environmental, Emergency Management and Security, Human Resources and Employment Practices, Social & Behavioral, Information Technology, Health, Nutrition Services, Special Education and Transportation. Additional specialized online course libraries can also be added to your training system to address a wide range of PD needs across your district, including:

Contact us at 800.434.0154 or request a demo online to learn more about how we can support your online training needs. Explore our new Funding Guide to find a variety of funding alternatives for our training.

Want to Know More?

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