CAP Officer Basic Course - Launching announced

[flyguy06]

THe emphasis of Eclipse's statement was that all members should have the same BASELINE training. Just because you a CP-type, doesn't mean you don't need to have a clue about ES.

What if I have no interest in ES? Are they going to make me participate in something I dont want to?

So, I should tell this 85 year old man who volunteers his free time to come out and help us out that he "HAS" to take ICS courses and that he HAS to go to SAREx's?

Ah...the idea of "University" in CAP.  When one attends a University, the idea is to become a well rounded person.  Thus the Engineers study literature, learn foreign languages, take astronomy classes and even music.   One must complete and pass the curriculum to obtain the degree regardless of their interest.

The same would apply here.

[Short Field]

Why would the 85 year old member need to take any ICS course if he does not plan on participating in ES and earning a qualification in a ES achievement?  As a matter of fact, you don't even need to take any ICS couse to earn your GES achievement. 

Why do you have to tell the 85 year old member anything???   It is obvious from what you have said that he is not planning on doing ANYTHING except what he is doing now.   Just be thankful he is still making it to the meetings. 

[flyguy06]

Why would the 85 year old member need to take any ICS course if he does not plan on participating in ES and earning a qualification in a ES achievement?  As a matter of fact, you don't even need to take any ICS couse to earn your GES achievement. 

Why do you have to tell the 85 year old member anything???   It is obvious from what you have said that he is not planning on doing ANYTHING except what he is doing now.   Just be thankful he is still making it to the meetings.

I agree. Thats what I was saying.

[lordmonar]

Let's not get into this ES People VS AE people VS CP people VS comm people VS what ever people.

Fly guy was not trying to say that there are any one type who do just one thing.  He was trying to counter my argument that adding a new weekend OBC course was too much.  He was saying that in his wing they could hold an OBC and do a SAREX and do TLC because they have got a lot of people....enought to cover all their missions.

If we want to argue about how much cross mission training our officers need....take it to a new thread.

[flyguy06]

Let's not get into this ES People VS AE people VS CP people VS comm people VS what ever people.

Fly guy was not trying to say that there are any one type who do just one thing.  He was trying to counter my argument that adding a new weekend OBC course was too much.  He was saying that in his wing they could hold an OBC and do a SAREX and do TLC because they have got a lot of people....enought to cover all their missions.

If we want to argue about how much cross mission training our officers need....take it to a new thread.

Thats exactly what I was trying to say. Thank you lordmoaner. But Ididnt look at it from your perspective and you are right.

[Flying Pig]

I still have not received my enrollment date yet, and there are members now who are getting enrollment dated in July and August.  So it looks like Ill be waiting about a year to start.  Way to go CAP.  It was good idea I guess.   Why is this any different than any other on line course CAP has?

[vento]

Apparently OBC is slightly more controlled than other online studies currently deployed by CAP.

Below is part of the instructions for people taking the course in January.
A link to the software was provided (ommited in this post).

To prevent the perception of individuals not doing their own work on the course, we have a "Lockdown" program that everyone has to load on their computer prior to taking a test in Blackboard.

[davidsinn]

I still have not received my enrollment date yet, and there are members now who are getting enrollment dated in July and August.  So it looks like Ill be waiting about a year to start.  Way to go CAP.  It was good idea I guess.   Why is this any different than any other on line course CAP has?

This right here

Hi all,
I'm finalizing the officer basic course and it shouldbe ready to go on 1 January.  There is something you can do prior to the courseto help the process. 
To prevent the perception of individuals not doing their ownwork on the course, we have a "Lockdown" program that everyone hasto load on their computer prior to taking a test in Blackboard.
After you load the browser, you will have to first open the "Lockdown"then login to Blackboard to take a test.
Attached are instructions for the "Lockdown Browser".
Please load the program from the following site and let meknow if you have any problems.

I got that earlier today. Looks like a decent way to prevent cheating. I'll let you know how it works in two weeks.

[Flying Pig]

I dont see how it does anything to prevent cheating, but OK.

[davidsinn]

Well it makes it a little harder. I'm pretty sure I could defeat it just because I have five computers in the house.....

[lordmonar]

I dont see how it does anything to prevent cheating, but OK.

How do you cheat on an open book test?

[SarDragon]

Well it makes it a little harder. I'm pretty sure I could defeat it just because I have five computers in the house.....

And they will all have the same, or very similar, IP addresses. That may trigger something in the lockdown.

[SilverEagle2]

Unless all five connect to the internet independently, more than likely it would have one IP between the CO and his internal router/switch.

However, having the one external IP may allow him to use one of any of the five to take the course. Helpful if he has to fight for computer time like I do at my house. 

To the server, it would look no different.

If cookies or certificates are involved all bets are off.

I presume it may generate a unique key between the client and the specific machine.

External IP's for average households are not static. Unplug your modem and more than likely you will be assigned a different external IP each time.

Tying the authentication to a single IP would be a bad idea.

[Thom]

Well it makes it a little harder. I'm pretty sure I could defeat it just because I have five computers in the house.....

And they will all have the same, or very similar, IP addresses. That may trigger something in the lockdown.

Apparently we have missed the point of this application.  From the manufacturer's page:

Extended Feature List

    * Integrates with Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, WebCT, and Moodle
    * Assessments are displayed full-screen and cannot be minimized
    * Assessments cannot be exited until submitted by users for grading
    * Task switching or access to other applications is prevented
    * Printing functions are disabled
    * Print Screen and capturing functions are disabled
    * Copying and pasting anything to and from an assessment is prohibited
    * Right-click menu options are disabled
    * Browser menu and toolbar options are disabled, except for Back, Forward, Refresh and Stop
    * Function keys are disabled
    * Source code for the HTML page cannot be viewed
    * Over 400 screen capture, messaging, screen-sharing and network monitoring applications are blocked from running
    * The browser automatically starts at the login page for the institution's course management system
    * URLs cannot be typed by the user
    * External links don't compromise the "locked" testing environment
    * Pages from the assessment aren't cached or stored in Internet Explorer's history listing
    * Assessments that are set up for use with Respondus LockDown Browser cannot be accessed with other browsers.

It would seem that the point of this app is merely to force you to NOT be able to open a second browser window to the source material while taking the test.  It only appears to restrict the functions of your web browser (really acts as a replacement browser...) during the time you are taking the test.  I believe this tool is probably much more designed for College-level courses which are not of the Open Book, Correctable-to-100% type, like the OBC.

There are so many ways around the limitations of this product, that I question if it is even meant by NHQ as more than a cosmetic effort at adding rigor to the testing environment.  It will still leave much of the 'integrity' of the test environment up to each individual.

Hopefully CAP officers taking this course will have the necessary integrity that the whole exercise is merely unnecessary effort.

Thom

[MikeD]

Let's not get into this ES People VS AE people VS CP people VS comm people VS what ever people.

Fly guy was not trying to say that there are any one type who do just one thing.  He was trying to counter my argument that adding a new weekend OBC course was too much.  He was saying that in his wing they could hold an OBC and do a SAREX and do TLC because they have got a lot of people....enought to cover all their missions.

If we want to argue about how much cross mission training our officers need....take it to a new thread.

I think the point is more about exposure rather than cross-training (so legit to keep in this thread?).  I'd say even the lunch-time conversations at a weekend class between an ES guy, and a CP guy, could be beneficial to both and to CAP as a whole.  A CP-only person shouldn't need to say take the 116 and assorted FEMA classes, but should know roughly, what ES is about, and who to send questions to. 

[Short Field]

OBC is about CAP Officership - something everyone involved in AE, CP, & ES should be developing.  OBC applys to the "whole person", not to a specific mission area.  Should every senior member take OBC?  YES.  MUST every senior member take OBC?  NO.  If a member is participating in a small niche, is happy with that niche, then by all means leave them in their niche.   

I actually feel much better about a on-line OBC that is standardized across the county than having aperiodic classes taught locally by instructors who can barely read the slides.

[CadetProgramGuy]

I just submitted 10 of my squadron officers into the OBC.  All are in for July 1 Start.

[flyguy06]

Apparently OBC is slightly more controlled than other online studies currently deployed by CAP.

Below is part of the instructions for people taking the course in January.
A link to the software was provided (ommited in this post).

To prevent the perception of individuals not doing their own work on the course, we have a "Lockdown" program that everyone has to load on their computer prior to taking a test in Blackboard.

what if a member does not have a computer?I have several members inmy squadron that do not own computers. They either use the one at the squadron which is not our property or they use the one at their jopb. so they cant download anything.

[wuzafuzz]

what if a member does not have a computer?I have several members inmy squadron that do not own computers. They either use the one at the squadron which is not our property or they use the one at their jopb. so they cant download anything.

A variety of possibilities come to mind:

• Squadron computer (as you mentioned)
• Computer owned by family or friends
• Shared computer at the public library
• Cyber cafes, etc
• Some schools / colleges may have open computer labs
Of course these may not be ideal situations for everyone, but they are possibilities.  Someone with sufficient motivation and enough resources to really be an active member will find a way.

[Thom]

what if a member does not have a computer?I have several members inmy squadron that do not own computers. They either use the one at the squadron which is not our property or they use the one at their jopb. so they cant download anything.

A variety of possibilities come to mind:

• Squadron computer (as you mentioned)
• Computer owned by family or friends
• Shared computer at the public library
• Cyber cafes, etc
• Some schools / colleges may have open computer labs
Of course these may not be ideal situations for everyone, but they are possibilities.  Someone with sufficient motivation and enough resources to really be an active member will find a way.

This issue deserves its own separate thread.  (Actually, I didn't search, there might already be one or more...)

CAP has moved aggressively to an online presence and online functionality, and we aren't the only parts of society doing so.  Anyone who lacks Internet access, at least on a semi-regular basis, will find themselves more and more disconnected from modern american society.

There are plenty of arguments to be made about how that affects those of differing economic classes, differing educational backgrounds, and even differing geographical locations.

The fact remains that CAP, including our training and education such as OBC, is moving online and we will need to find solutions to enable our members to participate in that online presence, or risk losing some of them.

Thom