For class purposes

The No Easy Day post is a follow up. The post that was due for Tuesday was posted Monday and is titled Classroom and Scenario training.

Sorry for any confusion.

No Easy Day

This was emailed by a colleague today. It goes to the ethos of the US Navy SEALS and their attitude toward perseverance and dedication.

 

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

When I first set foot onto the fabled BUD/S training "grinder," I saw the saying "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday" (TOEDWY) written in gold on blue above the asphalt. It is a simple yet profound statement that became a daily companion as my character was ground down and rebuilt over nine long months. Did the saying mean that yesterday was easy, or that today was going to be harder than yesterday? Nope; none of that mattered. What it meant was that I had to deliver results with all I had— right here and right now. It meant I had to show up and put out 100 percent and then do it again tomorrow. The memory of yesterday is easy  because it is over, and tomorrow hasn't happened yet, so don't worry about it. Just focus on now.

That saying was speaking to the need to develop discipline. Like all of our values, discipline requires practice. The dictionary defines discipline as the ability to behave in a controlled and calm manner—even during difficult or stressful situations. It also means to have conscious self‐control in directing or changing your behavior when you learn a better way. Thus TOEDWY encouraged us to discipline our minds to stay focused 100 percent every moment so we could learn new skills, gain new knowledge, and perform under duress. Those who accomplished this had the privilege of serving alongside America's finest warriors.

The last of the SEAL ethos statements is "Earn your trident every day." This and TOEDWY are closely related, but earning your trident every day is a reminder that the destination is never the goal. Once you become a SEAL, it is then incumbent upon you to master the skills of warriorship and to become a great teammate. The training is endless and relentless. You are never "there" and can never rest on your past accomplishments. This virtue is another powerful guiding principle for your life. The world changes so fast now that you can't afford to throttle back or take things for granted. If you do, you will soon find yourself on the sidelines,  wondering what happened. Many companies and individuals in the past decade made this mistake and faced demise or loss of a career because of it. Warriors discipline themselves by embracing the "the only easy day was yesterday" principle, as they strive to earn their trident anew every day. Ultimately they find great inspiration in the accelerated learning that results from this level of commitment to their work and training.

#techhrd

Classroom and scenario training

While proctoring a test that takes two hours, I finished the reading material for the class. In Chapter 6 the authors touched on simulation training. To me, that is reality based training (RBT), at least that's what we call it in the law enforcement world. It is a step beyond classroom training.

The authors rightly point out that some events in the real world are too dangerous to allow for "on-the-job" training. We have to simulate as much of it as possible. Using RBT, we can simulate dangerous, high risk events. This way, students get introduced to an event, which then gives them some experience for their brain to draw from when it is dangerous. This reduces the time necessary for them to respond in an actual event. This, hopefully, increases their safety and the safety of those around the incident.

In Chapter 7, I see the value of some of the live interaction between students and teachers in a conference, or similar setting, I am not sure where it would fit in the traditional classroom setting of law enforcement training. Part of it has to do with laws that restrict what can be done in an academy setting, combined with the time and costs involved in setting it up.

For example, under current Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training guidelines, students are not permitted to have a cell phone in class. Therefore, even though the use of Twitter to provide real time feedback may be valuable to an instructor and other students, it would be impossible to due if they don't have Internet access through their computer workstations. Without the computer and without the phone, that immediate feedback is not possible. Right now, students have to wait until the end of the Academy to post their feedback on the courses.

This might be something that can be experimented with, but that would require educating decision makers, many of whom are Baby Boomers or Gen X folks. Social media very far outside their comfort zone.

#techhrd

Twitter- It Ain't being twitterpaited.

Until this class, I had avoided getting into Twitter. There were several reasons for this, but primarily it was to avoid another thing that was taking time away from more important pursuits. I had no need for it. I would see articles on various subjects and watch the vitriol being spewed by basement dwelling, Internet trolls who would ride in, shoot from the hip, and ride out, with no regard to the destruction left in their wake. Kind of like the "drive by media" that Rush Limbaugh refers too, only more caustic and divisive.

So, as I dove into my Master's program at Idaho State, it became evident that I would be getting a heavy dose of social media. Twitter was but one example. Now I have a Twitter account. I am still not thrilled about it, but here we go.

I signed up for the account two weeks ago. I did not post anything until this week. I had to really, it was part of this week's course assignments. I had collected some Twitter feeds, such as those coming from the Pocatello Police Department and the Idaho State Police. Since I work in this field, and live in the area, it is important to see what is happening around you. Situational awareness is the term we use in law enforcement.

Because of a number of life events, such as seeing my new granddaughter, I have not had the time to devote to learning Twitter as much as I need to for this course. I hope that over the weekend,  I will get more time to look at it. I may have to use my 20 something daughter to explain it to me. She is quite the Twitter'er...if you will.

As for using Twitter as part of a PLN, I can see where there are some advantages. If you narrow the focus of your followers to just those areas which are part of the PLN, then I think it would help. If the feed gets clogged with entertainment, sports, news, and other extraneous information, then important information you need as part of your PLN can be lost in the deluge of Tweets.

Moderation is the key.

#techhrd

The "Big Idea," so far...

Although I am not afraid of new technologies, some of it I really tended to shy away from. There are a number of reasons for this, but mainly it's the amount of time spent on dealing with new technologies that slows me down.

After getting into this class, I saw I was going to have to use Twitter. I was not a fan of it. It seemed like one more "time suck" in my life. Facebook is bad enough. LinkedIn I look at very rarely as it's more of a professional contact's list than much of anything else.

Now, if I look at Twitter from a Professional Learning Network (PLN) or fast track communication mechanism, then I can see the benefits. It may help with seeing important information about events that would impact others in my profession.

From a learning perspective, I am still contemplating how it would factor into what I do. Most of the teaching I do is in classroom, or field settings. Since the class started I am trying to think of ways to use these technologies for training. It may take some time to put things together, but I can see the value of Twitter and other social media sources as part of a PLN.

I have used other media sources for instruction. For example, one of the classes I teach is on Human Performance Factors in Police Use of Force Instruction. Basically, it's a class on how human physiology and psychology factor into use of force. Since there is a tremendous amount of information associated with the class, some of it is just too in depth to present in a classroom setting alone.

To facilitate this, the students in the course participate in a ten hour pre-class training. This training consists of watching three videos via Vimeo, followed up by reading assignments and then an online, open book, multiple choice exam. This has to be completed before they come to class. The material prepares them for the concepts and information presented in the classroom portion of the class. It also frees me up to present other material that I would not have had time to present absent the pre-class materials.

During the class, we use several videos from YouTube to emphasis various teaching points.

 #techhrd

PLN Resources- Where to find them

Today, it is not hard to find resources for a PLN. Go back before the days of the Internet, and it was not so easy. There was no Internet and cell phones were too new, and too expensive for most people to afford.

With the advent of the Internet, resources can be found in different ways. The trick is to find those resources in the areas of interest you have. Sources can be found through word of mouth, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Yahoo, university courses, work place intranet, professional associations, and more. It really boils down to need and trustworthiness of the sources.

I started in the workplace before the Internet and cell phones. Information was passed through formal classroom training, weekly and monthly bulletins, and through various news sources. There were informal conversations about ways to solve problems, but generally, those solutions did not spread far through the workplace unless there was a driving need to take it throughout the organization.

Fast forward to today, and I have many different sources to draw from. My PLN consists of professional associations through LinkedIn and Facebook. Access to countless websites and blogs where training, case law, policy and procedures are discussed. Within my organization, there is email, teleconferencing, face-to-face meetings, Twiki pages, and intranet pages with information attached. I also have access to more formal training via classroom and video conferencing. I also participate in scenario based training provided by agencies I work with.

Lastly, I provide instruction myself and that allows me to meet and network with hundreds of officers and deputies around the state. This gives me access to information and ideas from a multitude of people in the profession. This allows me to develop more specific points of view on various subjects.

Here are some examples of various information sources I draw from:

PoliceOne.com- A diverse law enforcement page with section on training, equipment, employment, and more.
NTOA.org- Webpage for tactical information, training, and more.
LinkedIn.com- Professional associations that can be tailored to specific people I know, or work with in my profession.
National Rifle Association- Professional associations for training and information on firearms and equipment.
Facebook- Friends, family, and co-workers associations that goes beyond just work related issues.
Homeland Security Network- Information on terrorism and homeland security issues.
Reality Based Training- Associations and information about reality based training scenarios.

By no means is this an inclusive list. There are  many more sources of information.

Personal Learning Networks

Until this class, I had not heard of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). After learning what a PLN was, I realized I had my own form of PLN established. I just didn't realize this was what it was called- at a professional level.

I had been using LinkedIn, Facebook, workplace intranet pages, Wiki's, and Twiki's all along. Along with the aforementioned items, I also accessed a number of web pages, that were both work and personal. For example, work related web pages accessed information about various police activities, training, legal issues, and more.

From a personal level, there was Facebook and various websites for news, sports, and outdoor activities. However, even via Facebook, work related issues seemed to creep in from time to time. Those issues would then prompt research into those issues to comment, debate, and in some cases, try to slam dunk a point.

Now it's a matter of developing a better understanding of PLNs and how they will assist me in completing this degree, as well as how they will help me professionally.