Webcast Short Courses and Young Chemists—An Ideal Match
Professional development is a must-do activity for most young chemists. Keeping up-to-date with your skills or expanding into new areas of expertise shows your employer that you are serious about your career and can put you on the fast track to the opportunities you’re looking for. But, early in your career, training and travel budgets are often limited, and the importance of face-time on the job can make you nervous about traveling too often.
ACS Webcast Short Courses are a great opportunity for younger chemists to quickly learn the information they need in the convenience of home or office—without travel time or expense. These short courses are an enriching opportunity to interact with the instructors and network with other chemistry professionals who are also taking the online course.
ACS Webcast participants report that they really appreciate the flexibility possible by taking a course online. The sessions are recorded so you can easily make up a missed session or review one you’ve already attended. The technology in use allows you to interact with the instructor and other participants just as if you’re in a classroom together —you can even write on the whiteboard. And you can attend the class from anywhere there’s an internet connection and a phone.
Webcast instructors are held to the same standard as those of the in-person courses (and are often the very same instructor). Most courses take place during scheduled times over several weeks, so you can get feedback on useful homework and class exercises that reinforce your understanding of the course material.
Over 1000 chemists have taken ACS Webcast Courses since they were first regularly offered in 2003. More information and the 2007 Fall Schedule is available at www.chemistry.org/elearning.
Stephanie Rizk an ACS staff member in Continuing Education