News
May 15, 2008
City Offers Distance Learning Opportunities For Inspections Professionals
The City of Raleigh is set to unveil a new tool this summer designed to make continuing education easier for inspections officers around the state. As part of the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s annual certification process, a municipal government inspector must receive at least six hours of continuing education training. This requirement applies to each inspector for each building trade the inspector is certified for. This summer, the City of Raleigh will make a Web-based application available to inspectors across North Carolina as a tool through which inspectors can accomplish their six-hour requirement.
The online classroom will be based on the Moodle software. Moodle is a course management system designed to help educators and trainers who want to create high-quality online courses. The software is used around the world through universities, schools, companies and independent teachers. The City’s site will be available to anyone with Internet access.
“This is a tremendous time-saver for inspectors,” said Steve Smith, a business process analyst with the City’s Information Technology Department. “A lot of inspectors in some of the more remote areas of the state would have to travel a pretty significant distance to attend classes. This not only saves them time but also money as travel expenses continue to rise.”
Along with the Inspections Department, this software is used for training with the City of Raleigh Police Department, the City of Raleigh Fire Department, and the Emergency Communications Center.
The Inspections education program is based on the North Carolina Rehabilitation Code. After students register and pay their registration fee of $20 per credit hour, they have seven days to complete the course. After the course is completed, the students take a final exam. The continuing education credits are then reported to the North Carolina Qualification Board to certify the licensing requirements.
The course is available at: http://city.raleighnc-training.org/login/index.php.
Prepared by:
David Blount
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
Steve Smith
Information Technology
Information Technology Department
P.O. Box 590
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-890-3840
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