Interviewer: Tell me more about the new platform. 

Chiara: Of course! One of the key parts of AIRS mission is to provide learning and training opportunities for its members. We are the only association of its kinds providing this kind of support, so finding a way to do this in a way that provided the best experience for all of our members was super critical.  Really, the biggest thing about the new platform is how it brings learning and training all into the same space for our members. It is meant to be used by every person on any I&R team at every level to enhance their onboarding and ongoing training experience while mitigating the financial and time strain planning and carrying out good standards based training can put on our member organizations. Having run a statewide 2-1-1, I know it's hard to find the time and the means to create and keep up and then actually conduct solid training. I created a lot of this with that experience in mind. 

Interviewer: So is it all new stuff? Things no one has seen before?

Chiara: Not exactly. We moved the familiar independent trainings over from the former platform as they were into this new platform. Many of them will updated with in the next 6 months. Then we added our two other current learning opportunities into the same space; webinars and conference archives. That’s really new, and until now, having all of that in the same place where its easy to find hasn't been true. We’re excited about that. Also all webinars and conference materials from now on will be here in this same platform. It makes it easier for everyone I think. 

Interviewer: Will you be adding new content?

Chiara: That’s really the best part. This new platform has a lot of capacity for different kinds of learning. We’ll keep doing webinars regularly and add in some special topic webinars as well. The videos will be posted to the new platform along with any materials provided by the presenter and a quiz which, when passed, automatically gives you one hour of re-certification credit. We are also adding later this month articles written by I&R superstars throughout the US and Canada. We’ve also started planning for a podcast series with subject matter experts on hot topics in I&R like unintentional bias and rural poverty.

Interviewer: Will podcasts and blogs be the only new learning content? Will everything else be pretty static?

Chiara: Not at all! We have plans for micro-certifications and other courses to be added. And of course even the existing content will be updated with appropriate frequency. Also, we’re putting together packages. There are two for on-boarding CRS and CRS-DC roles that already exist in the system. But we’ve started outlining one for management and a few for certification prep. Packages been you get the whole series at a bargain price. 

Interviewer: So this is mostly for on-boarding?

Chiara: It’s great for on-boarding! It hits all the standards and provides an excellent base for the organizations customized content that is specific to the way THEY provide I&R in the communities. We don’t think of it as a replacement but as a compliment. But it is also ideal for certification prep like a mentioned before, and for any type of in-service or up-training with your already experienced staff. Read a blog between calls, listen to a podcast while you walk...anytime and anywhere really! 

Interviewer: You said anytime and anywhere...do you mean that?

Chiara : (Laughs) It’s the only way to stay relevant and present in this world isn’t it? Yes, Everywhere.  It looks great on a mobile device. Easy to use. We’re also really excited about what it can do for staff who work those off hours - nights and weekends - or even increasingly, off site completely. You don’t have to have a manager, trainer or supervisor standing over you to get good training. Think of all the freedom! 

Interviewer: Why would AIRS invest so much time in this? Is it really that important?

We really believe better training means better service which means more capacity which means cost savings and even qualifying for more grants. We want to make it as easy as possible for our members to reach their full potential as I&R providers. We’re here for them while they do all they can to be there their communities. So yes, it really is that important. And we definitely want to hear from our members what they would like to see and be responsive. We hope this new platform will help with that too - open the doors of communication wide open to every member. 

Interviewer: It sounds great! So how do we get to it? 

Chiara: Great question! And I have a great answer. First of all, and this is important, you need to make sure that every single member of your team has an AIRS login. Not only does it get them on the Networker where they can ask questions peer to peer and brainstorm with the best, it automatically gets them into the new learning platform. If you need to know how to do that or need help adding people you can reach out to Pheobie Hanover, pheobie@airs.org. She’ll help you.  The link for the new platform will be connected from the AIRS website. Here is the unique URL too, just in case: https://learn.airs.org/. 

Interviewer: Great! Any pro tips on how to use it?

Chiara: Pro? (Laugh) I definitely have tips. First of all, get to know the platform and all it has to offer. One great way to do that is to join a 15 minutes tour. We’re having 5 this month just to help people get familiar with the platform and feel comfortable. We’ll send out a separate invite too but HERE IS THE REGISTRATION INFORMATION just in case. You can also feel free to go in and browse and click around yourself. You can’t hurt it. And we’d love to hear your ideas and feedback in the spirit of continuous improvement. One more thing, for our members who are using the former platform, Relias, the current online course offerings will stay there for some time. They should still have access to it for some time. 

Interviewer: Anything else?

Chiara: Two quick things.  We’re also putting together group pricing for anyone who wants to use this platform , Elevate, into their own organization or center. If you have any questions about that or about anything really with the training just reach out to me, chiara@airs.org. And a reminder that anyone who renews their Platinum Level membership or upgrades to that level before the end of the year will receive coupons for 10 FREE courses they can have anyone use anytime. Platinum level also lowers your pricing by quite a bit. So check that out. Membership questions should go right to Moayad Zahlraddin;  moayad@airs.org. 

Interviewer: Thanks! We look forward to seeing everything.