by Kenneth Armstrong

Online education has been prevalent in the academic communities for decades; however, online courses seem to be just coming into their own in continuing legal education across North America. Of course, there is much more to online legal research than online courses, but that would be a topic for another column. Today, we offer up eight things you need to know about “online courses.”

Online continuing education contains many forms, including but not limited to:

1. The Continuing Legal Education Society (“CLES”) provides real-time online access to its courses. Unfortunately, as yet this does not include real-time video streaming. Rather, these conferences are described as “real time events that take place using a telephone conference call and your computer.” You listen to the lectures over your phone, while watching the power point presentation on your computer. The papers are also available online.
2. CLES will shortly introduce “Online OnDemand”: pre-recorded CLE courses you can access 24/7/365. These online repeats will feature the lectures and synchronized PowerPoint presentations, with course material available as well. Some courses may have a video component. Unfortunately, the roll-out has been delayed from summer, 2007 to January, 2008 (tentatively).
3. The Law Society has two online courses on their website, Small Firm Practice and Building Your Practice. These are much less demonstrative courses, consisting of “concise modules” of online written material, with optional additional resources referenced. The Small Firm Practice course, which is mandatory for some lawyers, includes testing components.

Now that you know what’s available, here are a few hints:

4. When participating in CLES online conferences, you need to use a different phone line for your phone than for your computer. On a related note, if you are still using your phone line for your Internet connection, we strongly recommend either ADSL or cable Internet. Connectivity is the key!
5. The CLES website does not say you must pay separately for each person attending at a given site. Canadian Defence Lawyers teleconferences permit unlimited attendance per enrolment fee at a given site. Please ensure you respect all contractual and intellectual property obligations you may have with the CLE providers.
6. CLES “Online OnDemand” will allow you to choose when, and even where, you take the course. Once you purchase the course, you will have a specified period of time to view the course – they allowed three months during testing. You can watch an hour at a time or a presentation at a time; and, you can pause the course when you need to refresh yourself or your coffee.
7. CLES “Online OnDemand” will also allow you to pick and choose which presentations you want to see and which you would prefer to skip. Have you ever been to a CLE where there was that one presentation you just wish you didn’t have to sit through?
8. Online Courses are available to Windows users and Mac users. The CLES website does not say whether Linux users can access their courses.

Kenneth Armstrong is a New Westminster lawyer, with Cassady & Company, and member of Provincial Council.

This article was published in the October 2007 issue of BarTalk. © 2007 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.