Wills, Estates and Personal Planning Class

Lorne Mann

Congratulations to the graduates of the 2021 Wills, Estates and Personal Planning class, held following the completion of the MA ALS Program. There were no failing marks in the class and some exceptionally good ones. That bodes well for the Notary profession!

By the time they get to this part of the education program, Notarial students impress and awe me with the depth of their understanding. They may still be struggling with precedents and technology, but they are beginning to understand that being a Notary is not just about copying drivers licences.

This was the first year that the entire Wills, Estates and Personal Planning class has been totally remote. We were concerned because typically, we want to see our students, hear them, and get a feel for their competence and capacity.

Zoom provided me with another challenge. Although fellow teacher Hilde Deprez and I had both used Zoom to attend remote signatures, neither of us had hosted a Zoom class and did not have commercial Zoom accounts from The Society of Notaries. We learned there is a difference between attending However cobbled together it felt, from my perspective the startup was a positive learning experience.

and hosting on Zoom. We had about 2 days to set up our hosting accounts.

To run the Zoom classes from home, I needed a better Internet connection, a webcam, a desk set-up with a reasonable background, and miscellaneous cables. I borrowed extra screens and a docking station from my Notary office. I focused on the slide screen and my wife Marianne sat next to me for the Zoom classes, running tandem on the student screen that was very useful when my system crashed.

Kootenay Klassroom with Marianne and Peggy the dog

After taking everything apart, I realized I needed to look to my software. My docking station alone ran an hour of updates. My online classroom, located over the garage, is hard to heat and the dog didn’t understand that her squeaky toys were not what we all wanted to hear—nor are cables dog treats, regardless of how chewy they are!

It was a dark and stormy week of Zoom

However cobbled together it felt, from my perspective the startup was a positive learning experience.

Some of the glitches I experienced with technology were issues for the remote students, too. They persevered and assisted each other. Despite the format, we had the most student interaction, ever!

I am honoured to have been a part of the Wills, Estates and Personal Planning course for the Class of 2021 and look forward to working with them as BC Notary colleagues. s Lorne Mann is a BC Notary in Creston.