By Wendy Aldred, a member of the Rotary Club of Brampton & Longtown, and assistant governor for District 1190 (England)

Several years ago, I became part of the Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland E-Learning Team, developing online courses for Rotary members. I am now leading the project and working with staff at Rotary International to develop courses for Rotary’s Learning Center, where Rotary members can find a wealth of online training materials.

Twelve steps to New Club Formation from the course by the same name in the Learning Center.

I’ve been able to use my expertise gained over 25 years working in the training and human resources consultancy profession to assist Rotarian in being more effective leaders. I wish more Rotary members knew about this resource and took advantage of its materials.

What’s great about e-learning?

• Availability. It is there 24/7
• Flexibility. You can use it to prepare members in advance for an event. We developed our introductory course for first-year assistant governors to be used prior to the Rotary in Great Britian & Ireland annual Leadership Assembly. The course focuses on three topics: the role of assistant governor, key areas and tasks of assistant governor, and what makes a good assistant governor. By the time they get to the assembly, they have already thought about and worked through these topics, and they have an opportunity to give us feedback to make the experience better.
• Adaptability. It allows you to combine and blend online learning with in-person training. Our New Club Formation and Satellite Club Courses are used as part of a wider membership initiative called Rotary Growth Opportunity (or GO for short). Members interested in developing satellite clubs, for instance, take the e-learning module and are walked through nine key steps critical for launching a satellite club. District teams support by Rotary Coordinators and assistant coordinators then work with them to seek opportunities to put their skills to use and plan a new club.

Developing e-learning courses puts your vocational skills to good use. I have found it both interesting and fun to be part of a talented and enthusiastic team of Rotarians working on the materials. Our volunteers have increased their skills in learning, development, and information technology, and have been able to add these accomplishments to their Curricula Vitae (CV).

“It’s amazing to be part of a project where Rotarians and the staff of Rotary International collaborate to provide such a forward thinking initiative. I really enjoy the tasks as well as the interaction between everyone.” — course developer

We’ve developed an excellent collaboration between our volunteers and staff at Rotary International. And we’ve received regular, and valuable, feedback from the comments built into the end of each unit. Here’s what a few Rotarians had to say about our courses:

“This tool helped me a lot in learning a few new things that I can utilize in my work as District Extension Chairman in 2015-16”

“The course will be introduced in our AG Training Seminar during Rotary year 2016-2017”

Have you visited the Learning Center yet? What are you waiting for? Sign in to My Rotary and check it out today.