Webinars

I need a certain number of training credits every year at work, and what with being a graduate student with a needy partner and a dog, I haven't exactly accrued a whole stack of them yet. Oh, it is already September, isn't it?

This month, because I'm not alone here, we've been provided with a healthy list of qualifying webinars from which to select a few good opportunities at 1 credit-hour a pop. I selected three of them, two of which were this afternoon. Despite having taken courses online for my degree for nearly four years now, I still don't see how people learn anything of lasting use from web-based seminars, which are basically just PowerPoint presentations.

My courses covered strategic planning for volunteer engagement and the homeless in libraries. The latter was actually pretty good. I wrote a paper on the topic during the Spring 2013 semester and enjoyed the refresher, especially since I had cited the presenter in my paper. Yay! I doubt anyone without previous engagement in the topic would have enjoyed as much, but maybe.

Last week, I took one on the health insurance marketplace, which was mind-numbing, but good exposure since I'll no doubt be helping people getting on there. Computer illiterate people, that is.

The main thing is that I'll get sufficient credits, I think, to cover what I need to meet the minimum training hours. I just wish I knew if other people learn more than I do from this type of instruction. If not, then what would make it better?