The Society of Women Engineer’s Advance Learning Center 2.0 was created to help women to succeed at every stage of their personal and professional development. The overriding goal is to provide lifelong learning opportunities to support the advancement of women in engineering. SWE members can use the Center to access relevant, quality global programming through a variety of digital technologies, from training on how to develop an effective resume to continuing education in engineering.
SWE launched the Advance Learning Center 2.0 to better serve the educational needs of its membership. Before the launch, the site was presented SWE content that was not directly involved in education. “Our previous system was a content management system,” Valerie Bland, director of content and programs at SWE, told Design News. “Advance 2.0 is a learning management system or LMS, meaning it delivers, manages, and tracks electronic learning. Below are the important upgrades.”
Upgrades to the Site Include:
- An improved user experience that Integrated with SWE's AMS for SSO, course catalog, and reduced number of clicks to access the content.
- SWE was previously known for its webinars. With Advance 2.0, we created new learning modalities to support learning needs, including closed captions, translated content, mobile courses, eLearning courses, and on-demand webinar that can be viewed when schedules allow.
- Discussion boards
- Improved IACET compliance by adding content with assessments.
Bland noted that the center is used in several ways by SWE members:
- Career development (resume writing, cover letter writing, interviewing),
- Leadership development (crafting a compelling vision, clarifying roles to improve execution, producing results from strategy)
- Build leadership, inclusion, and allyship behaviors through SWE's new Developing the Mindset for Inclusive Leadership asynchronous series.
- SWE leadership development
- Opportunity for members to earn continuing education units.
As for the nature of the webinars, conferences, and eLearning modules, Bland listed the content as:
- Live Webinars: live events hosted online by SWE. This provides the ability to interact with other attendees and subject-matter-experts.
- On-Demand Webinars: previously recorded webinars available when your schedule allows. 160 + hours of on-demand webinars available in Advance 2.0.
- eLearning:modules: asynchronous content designed to provide an interactive, hands-on learning experience.
Rob Spiegel has covered manufacturing for 19 years, 17 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include automation, supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cybersecurity. For 10 years, he was the owner and publisher of the food magazine Chile Pepper.