Collaboration Provides Online Courses for Members in Every Division

A strange end to our season cancelled in-person education events, however, PSIA-AASI divisions did a quick 180 to use online platforms to provide members new courses and events. Now the instructor community can continue to learn during these unusual times.

In this new First Chair Podcast, PSIA-AASI Central Division Executive Director Ron Shepard, Joel Krueger, and AASI Snowboard Team member Chris Rogers chat about the quick pivot.

Take a course at home, and read some of the top takeaways from this interview.

Challenges Create Opportunities

Because of Central’s extensive size—some 1,400 miles across—a few years ago they developed an online Movement Analysis course. They’ve used this course as a template to structure other online learning opportunities. “This course fit perfectly with an online meeting room,” Shepard said. “We have had about 400 people take it.”

“The first course was in 2016,” said Krueger. “It started as what we thought was a real opportunity with Central Division and ski instructors in general with Movement Analysis. It began with us asking how we can reach out our members with this course not only in season, but also in the summer.”

The Growing Importance of Digital Learning

The current crisis has made online learning more important than ever, and according to Rogers, “Central has done a really good job of embracing electronic learning.” He said, “All of a sudden, this digital platform that was already available has become a primary source of connection.”

“We have members who probably never thought they would attend an online meeting, and now they are all comfortable with it,” said Shepard. “I could not see a better confluence of events coming out of what in all other senses is a crisis.”

PSIA-AASI Members Are Uniting Across Divisions

The digital courses that Central and other divisions are hosting are available to all PSIA-AASI members, providing the opportunity to explore a wide variety of learning options.

“One of the greatest things is seeing members come together across divisions,” said Rogers. “The collaboration is great to see, and we’ve heard from members who were injured or who work part-time that this really helps them keep their brain engaged. In the future, we will continue to see more of this happening.”