It stands to reason that as the education field and industry continues to evolve, so too will continuing education management. More than pedagogy or professional development theories, the biggest disrupter to continuing education management is technology.
And not a moment too soon.
The digital age has put a premium on convenience, accessibility and on-demand content, which is why CE management must keep pace; yet, doing so requires the right tools and cutting-edge solutions.
As educational reformer John Dewey is credited with saying, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”
CE managers are increasingly discovering that integrating technology into their continuing education management facilitates more effective program administration, which in turn results in a stronger continuing education platform.
As technology propels continuing education management forward, your team can go even farther with Attendee Interactive.
Attendee Interactive is an event management platform for abstract submission and review, session and speaker management, continuing education management, and event logistics management.
The purpose is twofold: to help education planners simplify event management in order to save time and energy, while supporting the ultimate event experience for their speakers and learners. Our CE management software makes it possible (and easy) to plan, organize, manage, communicate, review, update, and report on actionable insights and data on a single, customizable, and flexible platform.
Our mission is to collaborate with continuing education planners and administrators on each step of the educational journey.
For that reason, this article will introduce and explore how software solutions strengthen and streamline CE management by providing tools that maximize time, staff, and budget for an overall enhanced experience.
Streamlined Registration and Enrollment
No matter how much time and effort are invested in a manual process, human error is always a consideration and often the cause of disruption or confusion. Switching from manual to digital processes puts you in greater control every step of the way. This is true of course registration and enrollment.
By integrating technology into your CE management, you are able to sidestep the potential pitfall of human error inherent in manual processes and, instead, reap the benefits of streamlined registration.
Benefit: Technology elevates your CE management with features designed to increase efficiency and productivity, while affording your team the confidence that comes from implementing a system that will not be subjected to human error.
Technology underscores current expectations for convenience.
Continuing to consider the human factor, by integrating technology into your CE management, your team can capitalize on the convenience of online enrollment through dedicated software platforms. In other words, your team can deliver on the convenient, seamless experience your audience expects.
Centralized Learning Content and Resources.
The real advantage of CE technology is centralization.
By relying on CE management software, your team can access all event information — speaker, session, logistics — in a single, yet flexible, space, rather than cross-referencing between various platforms. Again, this proves to be a real time saver for your staff, while providing technology savings, too.
Integral to a proven guide to effective event session tracking and successful session management, CE technology places a premium on ease and accessibility for both planners and learners.
Tech tip: Organize→Plan→Communicate: Manage logistics in one place and keep everyone informed.
For planners, CE software makes it possible to store, organize, and distribute learning materials, resources, and assessments in a centralized manner. Rather than sort through submissions, for example, you can collect session and abstract submissions via a single platform.
Tech tip: Collect → Review → Approve. Gather content and make decisions faster together.
In addition, CE software also saves time when it comes to managing your session and speaker details, by providing real time updates through a personalized ‘Speaker Center’ web portal. This feature guides your team on how to create compelling sessions featuring speakers who are equipped with the tools and solutions they need to empower their delivery.
Tech tip: Schedule → Build → Delegate. Build your sessions and agenda more efficiently.
“I manage the logistics for a national conference, this year expecting 1000 attendees. This system is managing our call for proposals, continuing education, and evaluations. It has cut about 150 work hours out of my schedule, allowing me to streamline attention, customer service, and my own mental health. The system has both reinforced existing and expanded infrastructure, allowing us to grow our conference program and attendance.”
Jeffrey W. A., Senior Program Coordinator, Education Management
Benefit: On top of saving significant time and leveraging a dedicated space to collect, review, organize, and distribute educational materials, your team is now empowered by a consistent process for obtaining, reviewing, and managing event content. This process is critical when it comes to defining program requirements with greater specificity to ensure CE compliance.
The result?
A ready-for-action team that is equipped to develop a strong education content strategy that will drive attendance. As an added bonus, event planners and staff can quit spending time tracking down people and information.
The reliable accessibility of educational content also extends to your learners.
While CE software makes life easier for your team from an administrative perspective, your learners can also feel more in control of their educational journey and goals, knowing they have access to the content they need to be successful at any time, from anywhere.
On that note…
Personalized Learning Paths
It’s true that educational pursuits are most often motivated by professional goals and ambitions; however, the path to achieving those goals is personal. Most learners must balance the other demands of their lives to pursue professional development or additional credentials, explore a new program of study or complete a degree.
In the past, educational opportunities did not necessarily accommodate a range of schedules or support work-life balance.
Fortunately, the rigidity of that delivery has been relegated to the past. Now, learners can create their own learning paths that best serve the larger picture of their lives in order to realize their goals.
Of course, this can only be managed with software that is able to tailor learning paths to individual learners’ needs and preferences.
Attendee Interactive’s CE software features tools that help learners adapt their own content based on individual skill levels, learning styles, and goals.
Fast claiming capabilities
Simply by logging onto the platform, learners can locate their CE event and then claim, view, and manage their own continuing education credits.
Customizable materials
Build your own course evaluations — either overall or session-specific — to gain insight into the curricula that learners are really looking for.
Personalized web portal
Here’s where learners really appreciate CE software. By accessing their own intuitive web portal learners can claim their own CE credits, manage enduring materials, complete self-directed learning activities, and even take pre- and post-assessments when they feel prepared and ready to do so. This accommodates a wide range of skill levels, as well as learning styles, which helps each learner advance more strategically toward their own learning goals.
Tech tip: Customize→Track→Award. Eliminate the manual work and stay compliant.
Benefit: Allowing learners to choose their own adventure, so to speak, when it comes to their continuing education is a vital component in effective continuing education management, which continuing education management software supports seamlessly.
Real-Time Progress Tracking and Reporting
CE management is only as impactful as the insights driving it. That’s why event planners embrace the ability of CE management software to track participants’ progress, completions, and performance in real time.
Keeping it real: being in the know right now provides planners with a responsiveness that manual processes could never afford.
The chance to evaluate and analyze learner behavior as it unfolds allows planners to make changes to CE programming in the moment. This helps keep staff, speakers, and learners engaged and up to speed at every phase of the event — before, during, and after.
Keeping all event stakeholders squarely on the same page goes a long way in nurturing communication, connection, and an environment conducive to learning.
What’s more, by analyzing the educational content that learners are completing and their interaction or engagement with a specific session or speaker, planners never have to wonder what’s working in their CE program.
Why do data-driven insights make a difference when it comes to program effectiveness?
We’ve all heard the expression, “Numbers don’t lie,” and while data can be manipulated, it generally provides a clearer picture of where your CE program really shines versus where it really… needs improvement.
CE software makes it a cinch to obtain, review, and share post-event feedback and reports to quickly demonstrate event satisfaction and success.
Benefit: By accessing and analyzing the data compiled by CE management software, planners have all the information they need to evaluate and, if necessary, improve upon program effectiveness. In other words, measure your event performance to make informed decisions in service of stronger events in future.
