Challenge
Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN) is no stranger to the struggles of the child care industry. As a nonprofit intermediary offering support to over 5,000 out-of-school time organizations across the state of Indiana, IAN understands them well. From technical assistance to professional development, IAN’s mission is to connect summer, before school, and afterschool programs to the support they need to provide quality care for America’s youth.
IAN strives to make valuable connections that will help Indiana’s out-of-school time programs flourish. It’s a big task that isn’t without its hurdles but the move to online learning has been very beneficial. With thousands of program workers across hundreds of sites, IAN understands that schedules vary, training requirements vary and program budgets vary. They needed a training solution they could recommend that was flexible, high quality and affordable.
Solution
IAN saw great value in the services provided by CypherWorx, and therefore chose to partner with us to share the power of eLearning with their network. IAN continues to encourage the use of CollaborNation, our Learning Management System, and the corresponding curriculum of courses because of CypherWorx’s strength in their three areas of need: flexibility, quality and affordability.
Benefits
Flexibility
While the convenience and flexibility of online courses is attractive, the flexibility of the curriculum also appeals to IAN. With the Create-A-Course tool offered by CollaborNation, IAN is able to create and adapt courses to meet their state’s specific needs. Having relevant courses, tailored to address statewide problems, makes for more effective material and improved program quality.
Continual Quality Improvement
IAN’s desire to improve quality of care comes with a need to assess performance and offer solutions. CollaborNation gives IAN the ability to track course completions, view learner transcripts, and create custom reports, providing valuable feedback used to evaluate performance. IAN and the members of their network use this information to detect areas for improvement. Once these areas have been identified, IAN is able to point organizations to courses in CollaborNation that will strengthen their knowledge and performance, thus effectively addressing gaps.
Affordable Professional Development
Professional development is an important factor in improving program quality. While many organizations strive to encourage professional growth, expense continues to be a major obstacle. Conferences, trade shows, and the like often come with a huge price tag. Even if travel and registration costs are in the budget, attendance may be restricted to management.
But what about the frontline staff that interact with the children on a daily basis? How can organizations offer affordable professional development to these valuable workers?
IAN encourages their network to turn to CollaborNation for a powerful, cost effective solution. CollaborNation facilitates professional development for all staff on one platform at an affordable price. Offering courses online gives everyone the opportunity to learn, and at a time and place that is convenient for them. This allows organizations to avoid training session scheduling conflicts, and the expense of holding multiple training sessions.
Conclusion
Indiana Afterschool Network strives to improve care for all children across the state of Indiana. They believe CypherWorx adds value to out-of-school time programs and continue to encourage its use among their members. Their partnership with CypherWorx has opened doors to affordable professional development, has provided the tools to assess programs, and filled knowledge gaps. With the help of CypherWorx and CollaborNation, the quality of Indiana’s child care continues to improve.