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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 26, 2007 - 11 United Way gives non-profit groups an e-Learning boost By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Increasing the skills of volunteers and staff working in the local non-profit sector just became easier thanks to the United Way of Oakville's new e-Learning program. Launched during a small Tuesday ceremony at the Mia Via Restaurant, the Internet program is intended to break through the barriers of cost, time and flexibility that often bar the way to professional development in the non-profit field. "The new program is the very first for a United Way in Canada," said Barbara Burton, United Way of Oakville CEO. "Over the last several years our training and consulting services have spent a great deal of time enhancing the professional development offered to staff and volunteers in the non-profit sector. E-Learning is the natural next step, providing a wide range of cost effective, user friendly courses at the convenience of the user." At a cost of $50 per year per subscriber, staff and volunteers in the non-profit sector will gain unlimited access to more than 80 modules covering a wide array of business related topics, which range from courses on conflict management to employee disciplining to marketing basics. "One of the United Way of Oakville's priorities is to ensure that · replacement parts · computer cables · ink & toner cartridges · new & refurbished computers · computer upgrades & service DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER HERE'S HOW: Rosemary Miklitsch, Vubiz director of professional services, demonstrates the features of the United Way of Oakville's e-Learning program. Vubiz and Cogeco Cable Inc. entered into a partnership with UWO to create the program. staff and volunteers in the non-prof- agents. Providing quality training A 2006 survey conducted by it sector have access to high quality and development opportunities will UWO revealed that the training and and affordable training and consult- enhance the ability of the non-prof- consulting process could be ing programs," said Angele Wilson, its to attract and more importantly improved and with the help of manager of training and consulting retain high caliber staff." UWO's sponsors Cogeco Cable Inc. services, UWO. The United Way of Oakville had and Vubiz Ltd., a learning service "We believe strongly that this been relying on face-to-face training provider, the e-Learning program enables non-profit agencies to devel- and consulting delivered by volun- became a reality. op the knowledge, skills and the teers with expertise in such fields as "This is not an initiative that will tools they require to become even board development, fundraising, ever take the place of face-to-face more effective community change strategic planning and marketing. training," said Wilson. "Learners all learn in different ways. We are not all the same and with the coming of the new generation this is a program that will certainly suit them. They're more technological." While being accessible from the comfort of a user's home computer makes the program an appealing alternative to standard training and consulting, another convenience is the audio component to the modules, which means the user need not read excessive amounts of text, but instead can allow a computer generated voice to read it to them. These efforts to make the training and consulting of non-profit agency personnel easier are supplemented by steps to make sure this ease does not come at the expense of learning. "This particular module is 46 pages," said Rosemary Miklitsch, Director Professional Services, Vubiz, as she entered the conflict management module. "It does take about an hour. There are quizzes and assessments throughout the module so that the learner can see how they are progressing. At the end of every module there is a test and when they successfully complete that test they receive a certificate." 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