Using the Technology

The USA Swim organization was started in 1888 under the name of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). (USA Swimming, 2012) Since then, technology has changed dramatically and the USA Swim Organization has changed to keep pace. Today, the organization takes advantage of that technology to help train officials of all amateur swim events in the United States of America.

For example, they now offer access to the following aspects in an on-line format:

• Officials Tracking System - easy access to view and track Officials certification status
• Testing & National Certification - learn about the National Certification Program or take an On-line Test
• Education & Training - resources to advance your skills
• Applications & Forms - find record applications and print forms for your meets
• Recruitment, Retention & Reciprocity - review materials to promote the "profession" of officiating
• Recognition Programs - honoring outstanding officials

In addition to these aspects, they also take advantage of on line social media such as Facebook and Twitter accounts where people can follow the happenings of the USA Swim organization.

In terms of technological capabilities, the organization, though it uses modern technology, could benefit from more thought put into making better use of those technological capabilities. For example, their web-site is slow to load because of the use of videos embedded into the site, and though they offer application forms on line, they do not offer any training courses using the on line distance learning technologies that are widely available today.



References:

Officials. (2010). USA Swimming. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1506&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

USA Swimming. In (2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Swimming