H1N1- It Came To My House

A friend of mine, Lorne Pike, recently contacted me about a product his company was launching.  Lorne is the Director of Corporate Solutions for CoursePark, the world’s first online Learning Management Network.  CoursePark decided to launch a FREE e-learning resource for companies wanting to prepare for H1N1.  By now, you’ve all heard of H1N1 and the state of emergency our country is in.  According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the spread of the H1N1 influenza A virus is on the rise as of their latest data from the week of October 18- 24, 2009.  Because this has been the trend with this virus, I was intrigued by the resource offered by CoursePark.  Not only am I concerned about employees and co-workers contracting the virus, I am concerned as a mother of two young children.

My intent was to try the resource so I could help Lorne and CoursePark spread the word about it.  Well, as everyone knows, good intentions do not necessarily equate to action. In my case, it was because H1N1 came to my house. I have 5 year old twins who started kindergarten this year.  After hearing so much about the H1N1 virus, reading on numerous sites, and talking to parents, my husband and I decided that we wanted to have our children vaccinated for this virus.  The bad news was that once I began calling around, I quickly learned that there were no vaccinations available in our area.  Not only that, but before I knew it, the twins had contracted the virus.

So, as CoursePark launched their H1N1 resource, I was waging a war against it in my home.  I spent time educating myself on the CDC website of steps caretakers should take when someone in their home has the virus.  I realized that even though there are sites out there that have information, it is still quite challenging to sort through.  This is the reason I am telling you my story.

I have since made time to go through the H1N1 information on the CoursePark site.  I have also taken the H1N1 course for employees.  You may think you know everything you need to from television, radio, or articles you have read.  I assure you, you are probably not prepared.  Even after attempting to educate myself, when I took the CoursePark training, I still learned facts about H1N1 that I was not aware of.

Here are some facts about the free training resource:

• By using a pre-test and post-test that take approximately 20 minutes to complete, your company can measure how much your employees have learned about H1N1 and how it is spread.  This will enable employees to take necessary precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus.
• The training resource has a course for management and a course for employees.  This holistic approach will address both the individual perspective as well as how managers can handle questions and react to employees who are dealing with H1N1.
• The courses are accessible from anywhere and at no cost, so there is no down side to signing up.

According to Lorne, CoursePark creates corporate learning systems that are much more user friendly than traditional learning management systems. A business using CoursePark can typically set up and start its corporate training program in less than one hour, as opposed to the many days or weeks often required to start a corporate learning management system. As well, companies can use their own staff training courses if they already have any in place, or can choose from CoursePark’s library of thousands of courses, from some of the world’s leading course publishers.

Be sure to check them out and try the free H1N1 resources.  Take it from personal experience, you can never be too prepared if H1N1 comes to your house.

I’d also love to hear your impressions of their H1N1 training resources.  Hit me in the comments!