When I coordinated the continuing education program at the University of West Florida back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this type of instruction was seen as a very hands-on reality. A small sampling of the classes I offered might include:

•Basic Photography

•Beginning Guitar

•Oriental Cooking

•Yoga

And of course…Disco Dancing!

You might be able to guess which of my classes almost always had the most students during that era, but I will drop the hint that a whole lot of people were putting up their “boogie shoes.”

These classes pre-dated the convenience of the Internet era and, at first glance, it may seem that “going online” might not have fit into the overall picture. However, I can say in no uncertain terms that I would have LOVED being able to offer my continuing education students an online instructional component back in the day. It would have been an ideal situation to combine well-conceived, well-structured online instruction with the obvious hands-on instruction required for a class like Disco Dancing. Heck, even I might have been able to pick up the steps!

Well, this is the 21st century, and School Training Solutions (STS) is way ahead of the curve when it comes to providing the best in online training to go with that necessary hands-on experience. Well-conceived and well-structured, indeed!

One of the best examples of this is the comprehensive online bus driver certification course offered by STS. This course is organized to meet state mandated in-service training requirements for school bus operators and also meets the professional development training needs of transportation specialists serving school districts.

Drivers taking this course move through step-by-step, self-directed online instruction that is light years ahead of the old classroom approach in its speed and flexibility, but they also slip behind the wheel of a school bus for their required hours or hands-on training. A win-win blended learning experience!

Translating this to my 1970s reality, it would be like offering a disco dancing class that showed you those legendary dance steps online while you marked out your moves in the living room. By the time you got to the studio, you’d be ready to show your instructor (the one with the wide collars, bell bottoms and gold chains) that John Travolta had nothing on you. Ah, nostalgia!

More and more school districts are signing on with STS as word has gotten out about the bus driver certification course and many other STS online training options.

In this fast-paced information age, staying ahead of the curve is all part of “stayin’ alive.”

Andrew Metzger

Guest blogger

School Training Solutions