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Special Report
Just a Click Away
Education and the Web go hand-in-hand
by Howard Shingle
Thanks to Internet technology, the pursuit of continuing education
in the window coverings industry has never been easier. In recent
months, two programs have come online that should not go unexamined.
WCAA CERTIFICATION
In September 2002 the Window Coverings Association of American (WCAA) announced
the examinations for its two certification programs can be taken over the Internet.
(See D&WC, September 2002, page 18.) Both the Certified Window Treatment
Consultant (CWTC) and Certified Workroom Professional (CWP) programs center on
a recommended six to eight weeks of self-study using the provided textbooks and
materials. Likewise, the certification exams now could be taken anywhere, any
time the registered student feels ready.
“I’d bet 75 percent of the people who register now register for online
exams, ” says Mark Nortman, WCAA executive director.
READY . . . BEGIN
Here’s how it works. Somebody interested in certification can register
for the course online, by phone or fax. The study materials are sent—Karla
Nielson’s “Window Treatments” for the CWTC and Ethel Mahon’s “The
Encyclopedia of Fabrications” for the CWP. Each person can then take as
much time as needed to read the materials and study the information.
“When they first register for the course, we enter them into our online
database. They are sent e-mails with a specific URL to access their exams along
with their unique usernames and passwords within a couple of days of registering.
Once they are ready, they get on the Internet and take the exam,” Nortman
explains.
Taken online, the exams are administered exactly as they would be if given in
person. There are 130 questions for the CWTC and 171 questions for the CWP exam.
When first logging on to the exam, there is an instruction page that gives each
exam taker all the information he or she should need. Each person has two hours
and 20 minutes to answer the multiple-choice questions. The clock starts when
the taker hits the “OK” button to start the test. Throughout the
exam a running clock scrolls with the exam taker to keep track of how much time
has elapsed.
With the online exam, no answers are final until the entire exam is submitted. “We
tell people to keep a scrap piece of paper handy to write down the questions
they are not sure about and then go back and revisit them once they’re
done and recheck the answers,” Nortman adds.
When time is up, the exam is over. Just as if a proctor were there to say, “Pencils
down!” the online exam ends promptly and the program automatically shuts
down. “It locks you out. It doesn’t matter if you’re done or
not,” Nortman says.
Even the grading is automated. WCAA gets an e-mail from its server with graded
test scores. “It tells me how long it took them to take the exam, and tells
me the score,” Nortman says. “I’ll e-mail them back saying ‘Congratulations,
you passed your CWTC or CWP exam, your certificate and materials will be in the
mail within two business days. So they’re generally notified of their pass/fail
within two business days,” he adds.
“Our programs are done on a pass/fail basis. Those taking the exam must
score 80 percent or better to pass,” says Nortman. Both the in-person and
online exams have about a 25 percent failure rate. Those who fail can retake
the exam. There is an additional administrative fee, but no limit on the number
of times a person can try.
DO YOUR OWN WORK
One of the biggest concerns the WCAA board had about online testing was security.
It wanted to make sure the exam was secure before offering it to the industry.
After all, no one wanted to see the questions and answers offered at auction
on eBay.
It took about a year and half to develop the exams’ security features,
Nortman says. Of course, it is encrypted, and the exam is offered on a non-downloadable,
non-printable screen. There are other security measures built into the exam,
as well. For example, each registrant’s unique username and password is
good for one-time use only. If somebody tries to use it to get on again it won’t
work.
As a further security measure, WCAA is looking into the option of having the
exam questions appear in random order each time someone logs onto the exam. While
the questions and answers may remain the same over a period of time, the order
in which the questions are asked would be unique to each taker.
The one thing security can’t control is someone trying to make an open-book
exam out of what is supposed to be a closed-book exam. Yet, that has been considered.
At two hours and 20 minutes, the exam allows a little more than one minute per
question. “If you sat and tried to flip through the textbook to find the
answers to your exam, you’d run out of time,” says Nortman.
Overall, has WCAA been satisfied with its online exam? “Extremely,” Nortman
says. “I wish we had done it a couple of years ago. It has enabled us to
increase our certification registrations by about 15 percent in six months. We’re
giving people the flexibility that they want.”
WINDOW COVERINGS INSTITUTE
Kitty Stein, an industry consultant (Workroom Concepts) and regular columnist
for D&WC (Workroom Operations), has embraced Internet technology and what
it can do for education. Stein has started the Window Coverings Institute (WCI)—available
through her site (www.workroomconcepts.com)—which will provide a variety
of classes specific to the window coverings industry.
Stein’s object is to secure a successful future for custom drapery workrooms
and retail window treatment businesses by providing individuals with the education
they need. She sees WCI as a steppingstone to get people to pursue continuing
education including WCAA certification, enrollment at Cheryl Strickland’s
drapery workroom school and attendance at industry trade shows.
“I realized the future is on the Internet. If these people are not yet
there, they’ve got to get there. This is what will enable them to stay
at home and get educated.”
Stein is starting WCI with classes that are in the business realm. “The
reason I’m doing that is because I firmly believe, after all of my years
of consultations with the various individuals in this industry, that if they
don’t have a firm business foundation they are going to really struggle,” she
says.
DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
The procedure for taking WCI classes is similar to taking WCAA certification
exams. Once someone interested in a class pays (credit cards are accepted) a
username and password are sent that are specific for the individual and for the
class to be taken. That allows the student to download all of the materials needed
for that class.
Each class has its own designated timeframe for the student to study the materials,
complete the exercises and take the test. The first class offered through WCI
is “The Path to CEO.” It has three lessons. At the end of each is
a list of resources pertinent to the lesson. (This reference material is for
the class taker’s own added knowledge and is not on the exam.)
Students have four weeks to complete this class. At the end of all three lessons,
when the student feels ready to take the test, the same username and password
are used.
The tests consist of a combination of multiple-choice and true or false questions.
They are graded almost instantaneously (depending on the speed of the Internet
connection), and require better than 80 percent correct to pass. A student who
passes receives a certificate they can download to hang on the wall or insert
into their portfolios.
EXPANDING CURRICULUM
As more classes are added to WCI, the topics will begin to vary. Eventually Stein
will include classes on fabrication, but for now classes will concentrate on
understanding business concepts.
Stein sees these lessons as being very important to new people getting into the
industry, but also for many people who have been at it for several years. Referring
to a survey she conducted a few years ago, there are people who have been in
the business for 15 to 20 years who still are not happy with their incomes. “There’s
got to be a reason for that. This may be the way they can figure out what they
can do to turn that around,” she says.
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