AC 21.2013
April 18, 2013
MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCY CONTACTS: ERA Training Opportunities
Since deployment of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), NARA has produced several training resources for federal agencies. The resources include online training tutorials and demonstrations, the ERA Users Manual, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and various webinars using ERA for specific purposes, such as the Annual Move. Over the past year, NARA also conducted monthly ERA Boot Camps at the National Archives at College Park and in three locations outside of the Washington, DC area.
As agency use of ERA continues to evolve so do its training needs, resources, and methods. NARA will continue to support agency users with a suite of eLearning training modules, online manuals, and FAQs. However, NARA has discontinued the ERA Boot Camps with the last camp in February 2013. Instead, it will offer agencies the opportunity to request custom training, conduct a pilot question and answer webinar with ERA subject matter experts in May, and produce short online instructional videos.
Training Assistance
Beginning in the spring 2013, NARA will consider requests from agencies for additional training that focuses on using ERA for accomplishing specific records scheduling and transfer actions. In order to be considered for training assistance, the Agency Records Officer or the ERA Account Manager must complete the ERA Training Assistance Request form and satisfy the following criteria:
- Participants in the training must have active ERA accounts and passwords.
- Participants must have completed the eLearning modules for their user roles.
- Participants must have work to conduct in ERA during the training, such as creating a records schedule or records schedule item, or creating a Transfer Request.
By the end of the training users will be:
- Familiar with ERA structure and lexicon.
- Able to create a transfer request and/or records schedule and records schedule item.
- Able to search for their transfer request and/or records schedule or records schedule item.
Once an agency submits an ERA Training Assistance Request form, NARA staff will review and determine the most appropriate training method. In some cases an email or phone call may resolve outstanding issues.
The focus of the training assistance will be on teaching the skills for accomplishing specific work. At this time, the training will be free of charge.
If you are interested in having a ERA training assistance session, please go to http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/era/ and complete the ERA Training Assistance Request form, by May 17, 2013.
Ask an ERA SME
NARA will conduct a pilot webinar session and give agencies an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers on any aspect of ERA.
- When: May 15, 2013
- Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT
The first 15 minutes of the webinar will cover news and topics of interest to the ERA user community. During the remaining 75 minutes, NARA experts will take questions either verbally during the session or via the chat function. Submitting questions before the session is highly encouraged.
If you would like to attend the webinar, please enroll at https://nara.ilinc.com/register/hyfthfj.
ERA Video FAQs
NARA will produce a series of short videos covering various aspects of using ERA. The videos will cover a variety of topics and will be available for viewing and downloading from the National Archives web site. The actual topics of the videos will be determined later.
We plan on adding to the video library over time. We will announce new additions on the Records Express blog. If you have suggestions for instructional presentations, please send them to ERAtraining@NARA.gov.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Michael Carlson at 301-837-1578, michael.carlson@nara.gov or ERAtraining@nara.gov.
PAUL M. WESTER, JR.
Chief Records Officer
for the U.S. Government
Attachment: AC 21.2013 ERA Training Assistance Request Form