AS the deadline for gaining compulsory continuing online professional development points looms, a growing number of lawyers are turning to their online options.
The 31 March marks the deadline for lawyers to get their CPD points, which makes this the busiest time of year for online providers of CPD points. But some law firms and lawyers still turn to the traditional models of seminars, classes, and out-of-date videos.
In the Australian legal profession there remains some resistance to the adoption of online legal training, while a growing number is slowly looking at online options.
Some larger firms have developed their own online learning solutions, such as Blake Dawson’s salt Enterprise, and others have adapted existing programs for certain types of training, such as occupational health and safety, or privacy, generally online learning (or ‘eLearning’) has not been widely embraced. A large percentage of lawyers still prefer to gain points by attending seminars.
But as the technology improves, and the ability to log in while still in the office is an easy option for lawyers, law firms are signing up for yearly subscriptions for all lawyers to do their CPD points online.
Lawyers face ever-increasing demands upon their time, says Natalie Wieland, a lawyer who started CPD Interactive while on maternity leave in 2007.
Any continuing resistance to online training may suggest a need for a cultural shift in the way many lawyers think about learning. Wieland says having online training as an option means lawyers who are “geographically challenged” still get to do interesting things.
The first major shock for Wieland when she launched CPD Interactive was that the legal industry didn’t know what online learning was, not that you could get a point online.
But interest is growing, she says, particularly in the ethics module which is a new compulsory area. Now, she says, she get a lot of repeat business from lawyers realising the ease of going online, often during work hours.
Lawyers do typically leave things to the last minute, she says. “Our busiest day of the year is 31 March and it’s ethics that is most popular.”
But she says the interest in ethics is purely just people being compliant. Also popular is the social media and marketing in law firms module, which covers the risk of social media.
The other great benefit of online CPD Courses is the opportunity to gain the points while overseas, says Wieland. “We just had a partner in Vietnam do a course.”
For More information. please visit: cpdinteractive.com.au
What is CPD Interactive?
CPD Interactive is a small Australian training company that offers online professional development training for lawyers. We have a range of courses available on our website that can be taken online to meet CPD requirements. We are a small company with experience in delivering online legal training. See About us for more information
What does CPD Interactive offer?
We offer a way for legal professionals to undertake CPD or CLE training online, making it flexible, easy and cost-effective. Our online modules feature expert authors – lawyers, academics and consultants. We also offers customisation and content to firms and other organisations to assist them to deliver training. See Corporate solutions.
What is online learning, or eLearning?
This means online education. Online learning makes use of multimedia, including video and audio material, and interactive elements, such as quizzes and other activities designed to test learning, to enhance learning. It is a very effective way to learn and offers many advantages, including ready access to other online resources and applications.
How can I find out more about how CPD Interactive works?
Take a tour of our website, and feel free to contact us.
How do I move through the course?
Each page has a series of buttons:
- click NEXT to start the module, then to move to through pages
- click BACK to return to the previous page
- click EXIT to exit from the course.
Do I have to complete the course in one sitting?
No, once you have selected your course you will have access to it for a specified period (usually 14 days for single-purchase courses). Once you have started your course the system will track where you are up to, so if you stop and recommence at another time it will allow you pick up from where you left it.
How will I know how long it takes?
You will see on each page of the course how far you have progressed through it.
Do I have to complete all the activities correctly to successfully complete the course?
No. The activities are designed to provide you with an opportunity to reflect and review what they have learned. As long as you have progressed through each page, completed each activity and come to the end, then you will have completed the course.
Can I complete the lesson only once?
No, once you have selected a module you may complete or review it as many times as you wish for a period of 14 days.
If I pay for a course, do I get materials I can come back to?
You will have access to the course for 14 days, or longer depending on whether you have purchased single courses or taken a subsciption. Where we can, we include materials that can be printed out – for example, draft clauses, notes or summaries – but the course itself cannot be printed. You can take notes as you go, and bookmark any links that may be of interest.
We are online providers, and encourage practices that reduce consumption and increase efficiency and productivity. How often do you refer to the notes you got from that conference back in 2000? Chances are it will now be out of date. And you will be able to access all the information you need – legislation, cases, articles – online.
Do I receive a certificate or proof of attendance at the completion of the training?
Yes, once you have moved through the entire course you will be eligible for a certificate, naming the course you have completed, when you completed it and in which of the four fields it is in. Also, on 31 March of each year you are eligible for a statement outlining all of the courses you have completed with CPD Interactive Pty Ltd. Our system tracks who does which modules, and when, so we can always help you if you lose your records. Contact us if you need to.
What if I have forgotten what courses I have completed?
You can log on and view all the courses you have previously completed. The system will tell you if you have started but not completed a course.
Why do CPD online?
Under the CPD / CLE rules, lawyers can now takeCPD training through a web-based program, like ours, or multimedia.
Most lawyers are used to getting their CPD points by personally attending (and/or delivering) seminars, conferences or workshops. This is time-consuming to arrange and attend, and can be very expensive.
Anywhere, any time
CPD Online training is very flexible and cost-effective. It has also been shown to be a very effective way to learn. As a busy professional you can complete training when you choose to, at home, in the office or anywhere you can access an internet PC.
Seminar costs can vary greatly, depending on who delivers them and what extras are provided. You also have to factor in the cost of being away from the office, in billable hours, travel, parking, and other costs such as childcare. Our training is cost-effective, especially under a subscription or bundling option.
Publishing online means we can use technology to deliver content to you in ways that may be new to you. We can use simulations to teachlegal research training. We can use a video of a speaker combined with onscreen text, and then some question and answer testing. We can adapt our training to suit the content and also the user. From an organizational level it means we can tailor yourCPD training to suit the needs of your organization.
Contact Us to find out more, especially if you’d like to learn more about learning online.
CPD Interactive delivers on-demand, online training in each of the four areas, on a range of topics. See our courses page for a list of current courses. We also deliver custom courses to meet the needs of our clients.
Online courses can be completed any time – including after-hours – and are supported by a 24-hour technical helpline. Each course is designed to take one to two hours, and to be engaging, interactive and very easy to use. It is simply a matter of choosing a course and getting started. Progress through your course is recorded by the CPD Interactive learning management system and you can go back into any course you have started but not finished. Why not have a look at a sample?
Our courses incorporate text and use different online learning features, including images, video and audio material, all of which enhance the learning experience. New training courses are continually added, reflecting changes to law and practice. We will track your progress and can confirm completion of your course. You will be able to print a certificate of completion for your records.
Flexibility for our corporate clients
CPD Interactive aim to be as flexible as possible for our corporate clients. We want your lawyers’ online learning experience to be easy and engaging.
If you have your own Learning Management System, we fully integrate our solutions into your environment. If you don’t have a Learning Management System, we provide one for you, either as part of our subscription service, or through the pay as you go program. And, we offer you management tools to report on your lawyers’ progress.
Services and subscriptions
We offer subscription package to suit your needs. You can select from a range of stand-alone courses, with content provided by expert authors and purchase the courses individually, or as part of a bundle / subscription.
Customization
If you have your own content that you would like to offer your staff via online learning, we can develop the content into online courses to suit your needs. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Two ways to pay:
- pay as you go, choose courses and pay through the secure shopping facilities
- by subscription – this is very cost-effective, and is aimed at learning and development managers / law firms who have to manage the needs of a group of professionals.
Single courses are priced at $99 or $199 (for premium content), with discounts available for bulk purchases. Contact us to find out more.
Subscription package
The more people who need professional development training in your organization, the greater the savings. Meet the CPD needs of a large number of lawyers over a year for a few dollars per lawyer.
The subscription package consists of a predetermined selection of our courses. You have unlimited access to these courses for a year. The price you pay is determined by the number of lawyers in your firm. You can add any of our premium modules to the subscription package for an additional fee. Please contact us if you are interested in discussing our subscription options.
Call us on 1300 85 45 11 or email us to find out more. We can find a solution to meet your needs.
For lawyers on the move who would like to get CPD any time, anywhere – CPD Interactive are thrilled to announce a new service. All our courses will be available to run on your mobile platforms. We support touch devices – iPad, iPhone, Android devices and soon we will add Blackerry support. All our courses are in the process of being transitioned to the new platforms, and any new courses we develop will automatically include the mobility feature.
Progress of your course is fully linked to your account, so you can start the course at your desk, continue it on the train on the way home and our system will automatically resume the course where you left off. So no matter what platform you choose to use – PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android or Blackberry* – we have a solution for you.
Anywhere Anytime
This is our motto for online learning. You can choose to take a course at your desk in the office, at home, on the beach or overseas. All you need is access to a computer and the internet and you are on your way to achieving your CPD requirements.
Why not give online learning a try?
Until now you have probably been taking time out to attend seminars, write papers, watch a video or listen to audio podcasts. Under the rules you can also take training through a web-based program or multimedia. Try professional development online, it is easier than you think.
You can just get started or you might wish to learn more by taking a look at our frequently asked questions.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, feedback, suggestions about a topic you would like to see or just want to discuss your training experience.
We would love to hear from you. Send us an email
The aims of this module are to ensure you:
- understand how a mediation works
- know what ethical issues may arise and what professional conduct rules you need to be familiar with
- be familiar with the Australian National Mediator Standards.
The aims of this module are to ensure you:
- understand how a mediation works
- know what ethical issues may arise and what professional conduct rules you need to be familiar with
- be familiar with the Australian National Mediator Standards.
Essential guidelines for the new PPS laws on behalf of LexisNexis
This module was written by Tony Coburn of Freehills for and on behalf of LexisNexis.
This course identifies and discusses a number of practical issues which will arise for existing contracts, and for designing security agreements that are more suited to the legal environment after the PPSA comes into effect.
It looks at some frequently used financial products, and in particular:
- all assets securities (which will be granted under general security agreements);
- specific asset securities (which will be granted under specific security agreements);
- leases of goods; and
- invoice finance (as an example of ‘deemed security interest’)
It also looks at some contract practices in the construction industry which may give rise to some issues under the PPSA.
Want to get your legal CPD points online today?
Build your professional knowledge by taking one of the CPD Interactive online courses. If you need some legal ethics training, a unit in practice management, skills or substantive law you can get the points you need. Simply pick your field below, and go!
If you are interested in CPD for your staff, contact us for bulk pricing discounts and payment options. We will provide your staff with an access key to make the process smooth and simple.
Your privacy
We respect your rights to privacy and provide the following information to allow you to understand why and how we collect and manage private information.
What information do we collect?
By providing services to you CPD Interactive may collect information such as your name, address, telephone number, email address and credit card details.
This information is collected to allow us to deliver services, for example to allow you to complete a purchase of one of our modules. We may also use this information to ensure our services meet your needs. This means we may use your details to provide you with further information about our services, or to ask if you will provide feedback on our services (for example, by participating in a survey).
We do not ask questions about personally sensitive information, for example health information, except where allowed or required by law.
What information does our website log?
Our website logs only the following information:
• date and time of your visit
• pages and files you requested
• your IP address
• the type of web browser you use
• how you got to our site.
What about newsletters and mailing lists?
We will not sell or pass on your information to any third party without your consent. We will only use your information for the purpose described, if you subscribe.
Don’t want to receive marketing information?
If you choose not to receive any information about our services please contact us at help@cpdinteractive.com.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 1300 85 45 11.
Do we disclose personal information to third parties?
CPD Interactive will only disclose personal information to third parties with your consent, or where required by law. If we hire third parties to perform services for us, such as marketing services, we require strict confidentiality.
Can you access and correct information we hold about you?
You can have access to the information that you provide to us and you can update this information if your circumstances have changed, except in certain situations. You may request this information by writing to us at the address below, or via email.
Is online information secure?
Given the nature of the internet, CPD Interactive cannot completely guarantee that any data being transmitted is completely secure, but we will take all reasonable steps to protect your information and ensure your privacy. You transmit data online at your own risk.
However, CPD Interactive does provide security for online purchases through our online store, such as purchase of modules. These services use SSL technology. When purchasing online using a credit card ensure you are on our secure server before providing any credit card information.
What if we change our privacy policy?
CPD Interactive may occasionally change this policy by posting an updated version of this policy on our website.
Need more help?
If you have any questions at all about privacy of your information please contact us by email at help@cpdinteractive.com.au. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 1300 85 45 11 during business hours.
For more general information about privacy, go to http://www.privacy.gov.au/ or http://www.privacy.vic.gov.au/
Also see our Terms of use and Copyright/IP policies
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