jrcook416

[jrcook416]

New episode!

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[jrcook416]

To Get Paid or Not To Get Paid...

I get this question a lot.

“What’s up with charging for courses?  Why can’t you do it for free?”

The answer is simple.  Time and money.  Both are intertwined to a degree. Hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll understand why I charge for providing certification and non-certification classes and can get a greater appreciation for the costs involved in putting a class on.

For each hour I spend in the classroom, I easily have another hour or two, sometimes three involved in planning out my content and developing the material.  I go back and read the material before I lecture to make sure that I am getting everything through to the students.  I then search the Internet looking for material to reinforce what I am teaching in the classroom or over the webinar. That doesn’t include grading homework or looking at assignments to make sure that the class is in the right place to pass the state testing.

If I’m using a pre-recorded lecture, I have at least an hour invested in pre- and post-production on that lecture for every half hour that I taught to a live class.  It takes time to go out and edit all of the bad audio, the pauses, the delays for class questions and time.  This has to be done every two to three classes I teach because the material changes with time and new ways of presenting the material come to light.

You have to factor in the time it took to build the content and the website supporting it.  It takes time to learn Moodle and other learning management systems and how to effectively use them to get your point across.  Once you learn that, you have to actually build the content or convert the content into the format that your particular learning management system takes to do the job.

All of this time costs.  It either costs money or it takes away from time that could be done doing other things like family time or personal time.  Consider the average LMS content developer makes $55,000 a year on an entry level. This does not include the video production side, or the fire/EMS education side, or the many other different facets that go into producing fire science education for an online environment.  

The State of Indiana pays its contract employees $25 per hour for fire service education.  This is roughly equivalent to $52,000 a year on a 40-hour schedule per week.  It’s close to our $55,000 figure.  But that person would do nothing but fire science education – a lot of us have other full-time jobs on departments that may or may not support online education.  So a lot of this is done in someone’s spare time.

For the 14 session Instructor I series, I have 28 hours of actual classroom time wrapped up in it.  I commonly quote charges based upon that 28 hours.  But that doesn’t even start to cover equipment and hardware costs, software costs, hosting costs, subscription costs, and other costs that are wrapped up outside of that quoted price.  It takes an investment of at least $17.50 per student per year to host a learning management system.  Right now, we are lucky to work with a vendor who allows us to use their systems for free. The IFIA sponsors most of my classes, and they have the overhead of providing an Executive Secretary to manage the day-to-day operations of the Association.  

You may be asking yourself why the State can’t pay for some of these things. As anyone who has ever worked for a government agency will tell you, money doesn’t grow on trees.  That money has to come from somewhere, and with citizens watching every penny spent by the government, the government has to justify the costs for the money they do take in.  

Some jurisdictions are fortunate not to have to worry about this, but if you’ve ever been a volunteer trying to make ends meet on a small budget, you understand.  While we don’t want to charge for these courses, we have to in order to make ends meet for our instructors and the Association.  We can’t provide the services we provide to you for free – even volunteer departments have to have some revenue coming in to keep the doors open.

Remember, I come to this with 12 years in the volunteer service.  I realize that $250 for a class is a major investment.  But I feel that $9 an hour towards defraying costs for a class is not too extravagant.  It takes three students to even break even at that base $25 an hour price, and that’s just for the teaching time.  That doesn’t include the course administration, or grading homework, or planning for the lectures.  Or it doesn’t include the hours of development that the course has taken to get where it is.

We recently had a discussion in the Instructor I Spring cohort about getting paid or not getting paid.  My colleague, Jonathan Hancock posed the question to the class about getting paid or not getting paid to teach class and what our thoughts were on instructors that will only teach if they’re getting paid:   

Chief John Shafer posted the following thought: “It depends on the context and actually the experience level of the individual. If someone is new and just starting off they should pay their dues and teach for the love of the job regardless of being paid to a certain point. However, if someone has dedicated their entire life to learn a specific topic and have experience then no one should expect them to not get paid. Unfortunately, the fire service is the only profession I know of that often times some expect people to teach and give of their time for free. You would never see a school teacher or college professor work for free.”

Jon answered Chief Shafer: “I agree with that, however, if a department of a firefighter cannot afford the fees of one instructor who is specialized in one skill that may help their skill set and personal safety on an incident scene it hurts that person or persons simply because of a financial limitation. We as firefighters want to do better and I know that at the end of a day we all want to be rewarded in some form but who truly reaps the rewards if there is not enough students to teach in the end.”

Chief Shafer: “I understand financial constraints which is why IFIA attempts to provide low-cost education to help reach those that don’t have large budgets, but at the end of the day, it still costs a significant amount to conduct classes. So like I said at the beginning of my first comment, it really depends on the context of the situation. I know I have and I know a ton of instructors who have done it free for several classes.”

I then enter the discussion: “I too believe that instructors should do it for the love of the job, but there comes a point where you have to cover your expenses. Right now, I have about 56 hours wrapped up in this class, about 1400 bucks worth of time. I made a deal with the IFIA to teach strictly off of instructional time alone, but a lot more goes into it, particularly for this type of class. I personally believe that you pay for what you get. I also believe that departments have an obligation to support their instructors through personal development opportunities.”

The discussion concluded with the statement that due to instructors like myself, the Association is able to offer low-cost education with high quality. 

So, the jury is still out.  Do I get paid to do this? Absolutely.  I have enough experience in the topic and enough knowledge to deliver a high-quality product.  Does everyone? No. You need to earn your keep before you can charge.

I hope this answers your questions.

[jrcook416]

[jrcook416]

Commissioners bar man from county admin building; No action taken on ambulance coverage

Keith Rhoades, The Reporter-Times

MORGAN COUNTY

For the first time in memory, the Morgan County Commissioners have passed a resolution that bars a Mooresville man from coming into the county administration building during their meeting Monday morning.

While the man has not been arrested for his actions, he has been escorted from the building by Morgan County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Morgan County Planning Director Kenny Hale had asked the commissioners to consider the resolution because of concerns for the safety of the county employees.

“He can go from being good to being threatening in an instant,” Hale said, adding that he “always apologizes afterwards.”

Hale said the problems began last year in April. The man is reportedly working with the town of Brooklyn to establish a business.

“He’s frustrated with the permitting process,” Hale said.

Hale said Brooklyn has taken the same approach, barring him from the town’s office.

“It’s a strange thing to do to but public safety is a factor,” said county attorney Rod Bray.

“It’s a big step to bar someone from a public building,” said commissioners Ryan Goodwin.

“I hate it,” Hale said. He told the commissioners he is still working with the man. “We have spent between 300 to 400 hours working with him.”

While the resolution bars him from coming into the administration building, he can still do business through a third party. Should he violate the resolution, the man could be subject to arrest.

Ambulance coverage

Representatives from the Brooklyn, Brown, Adams and Ashland, and Harrison townships’ fire departments attended the commissioner’s meeting Monday morning.

They attended the meeting in response to a discussion at a commissioner meeting in January when it was discussed using county ambulances to respond in areas where residents are paying county taxes for service but receiving serve from another agency.

Commissioner Norman Voyles gave them a chance to speak before the start of the official agenda. Two representatives did take advantage of the chance.

According to the chief David Allison from the Harrison Township Fire Department, they have an ambulance service that provides them coverage. He said that unless an ambulance is stationed in the township, the residents will face a slower response time for service.

Devoney Collins, from Adams and Ashland Township Fire Department, said while they have used a service from outside the township, it is because of problem that occurs at times dispatching a county ambulance to the area. She said she could not understand why they could not have mutual-aid agreements with surrounding counties.

In other business

• The commissioners approved making the roads in section one of the North Madison Crossing subdivision a part of the county road system The approval does come with some restrictions.

• The commissioners approved the county attorney’s contract for 2018. The attorney will be paid $32,640 for the year.

• The commissioners voted to purchase four new trucks from Hubler Chevrolet in Mooresville for around $104,000.

• Morgan County Emergency Medical Service Director Donnie Warren said there are some problems with the electrical and heating and air conditioning systems in the old EMA building on East Morgan Street. The problems were not found until the remodeling had started. Warren said he will be asking the council for funding to pay for the work.

He said the agency had passed the state’s inspection. Warren said the agency responded to 280 service requests in January.

• Sheriff Robert Downey said as of 8 a.m. Monday, there were 315 inmates in jail. There were 236 males and 79 female inmates. He said the department had responded to 1085 incidents this year.

• County dispatch director Scott Hamilton said so far this year, they had received 10,326 calls at the dispatch center. Of that number, 1,999 calls were from 911.

• Morgan County Veterans Service Officer Rick Baum said in January, he had 68 interviews with veterans.

Baum had previous given commissioners a year end report from 2017.

His report began when he was hired on June 5 and ran though Dec. 31. During that time, he had 294 interviews with veterans. He filed 91 claims and traveled 983 miles.

Drainage board

The board requested quotes from several companies to do some work on the Sedwick Drain. Only one company, Anderson Excavating from Monrovia, submitted a quote for $4,500. The board awarded the company the work of removing items from the ditch.

County surveyor Terry Brock said the town of Mooresville had asked him for help in dealing with unspecified drainage issues. Brock said there was no specific issue mentioned. He said the town has had flooding problems in the past. Brock said he wanted to let the board know the town had asked for help.

Board member and county commissioner Ryan Goodwin, who represents that area, agreed there are drainage problems that need to be addressed.

The next Morgan County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19 at the County Administration Building, 180 S. Main St. in Martinsville.

Courtesy the Reporter-Times

[jrcook416]

Column: A response to the article on EMS

The Harrison Township Fire Department

The members of Harrison Township Fire Department (HTFD) would like to respond to the Jan. 17 story regarding the “EMS Fight” and EMS Director Donnie Warren’s comments about HTFD.

First and foremost, Mr. Warren’s comments gave the impression that HTFD just recently contracted for ambulance service, just to avoid using the new county ambulance service. This is not the case.

History of coverage

HTFD was the first area in Morgan County to ever have Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service as our township’s full-time primary response ambulance. This practice in HTFD has been ongoing for over 20 years, not at all something we have just begun doing, as you may have been led to believe from Mr. Warren’s statement.

This ALS ambulance service for our township has been accomplished through contracts, memorandums of understanding and mutual-aid agreements with other fire service agencies located in Johnson County.

HTFD has never needed or called the current county ambulance service (”Morgan County EMS”). In addition, we did not need or call the old county supported ambulance service (”EMA Ambulance”). At no time has anyone, including Mr. Warren, ever contacted HTFD to discuss the use of the county’s new ambulance service.

When the county first wanted to start this ambulance service, a subcommittee from the Morgan County Fire Chiefs Association requested to meet with Mr. Warren to discuss what would be the best approach to implement the new ambulance service in the county. In this meeting, Mr. Warren, who has never run an ambulance service before, took about 10 minutes to explain his plan for the county ambulance. The chiefs association members then expressed their concerns with the plan. Mr. Warren would not take any suggestions from the local fire chiefs, and the very short meeting ended. Mr. Warren never made any further contact with the chiefs association.

Cost comparison

The cost of the current ALS service HTFD provides to the taxpayers of the township is included in the 6-cent fire district rate that is currently collected from our taxpayers. This 6-cent rate covers the cost of all fire and EMS activities provided to the township residents.

Morgan County has now added a new, additional 13.9-cent tax rate to Harrison Township residents, to be used only for the Morgan County EMS ambulance service, which the county does not provide to the Harrison Township residents.

HTFD feels that this new 13.9-cent additional county EMS tax the county is collecting from the township residents is nothing more than an unjustified, double tax for a duplication of services that is already being provided at a lower rate.

Quality of service

On every emergency medical call for service in Harrison Township, the HTFD currently provides our residents with a Basic Life Support (BLS) rescue squad with an average staff of two to six local volunteers, depending on the time of day. We also provide an ALS ambulance, which is staffed by one emergency medical technician (EMT) and one paramedic.

The average response time of this equipment to reach a township residence is less than five minutes. If we need additional staff on any given incident, HTFD has the ability to call additional ALS equipment from our ambulance provider, with the same five-minute response time, as well as calling Madison Township Fire for its ALS ambulance.

In fact, the HTFD depth of service well surpasses the entire abilities of the new Morgan County EMS ambulance service in its entirety, both in number of units available and response times to our area.

Minutes and even seconds really count in this business. If a person is in cardiac arrest, having a stroke or not breathing, brain tissue dies every second without intervention. How soon an ALS paramedic can administer a drug is literately a life-and-death or quality-of-life scenario in many cases.

If Morgan County was to provide ambulance service to Harrison Township residents, the closest ALS ambulance they can provide is 15 minutes farther away, stationed in the city of Martinsville. Having the county provided EMS ambulance service to Harrison Township would be taking a 20-plus-year step backwards for the residents of Harrison Township.

In closing, time and money are very important considerations. HTFD currently offers its residents an exceptional ambulance service at a much lower rate that the 13.9 cent rate the county requires for their Morgan County EMS ambulance service. In addition, Harrison Township’s current ALS ambulance service is able to respond and reach patients in a more timely fashion compared to its Morgan County EMS counterpart. Response time is very important when family, friends and loved ones require emergency medical assistance. The current county proposal and plan is not sufficient and will not benefit all residents of Morgan County.

Editor’s note: In light of the claims made in this letter, reporter Lance Gideon spoke to various folks in the county involved with this issue and wrote an article for today’s edition.

Courtesy the Reporter-Times.

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County EMS, townships look to get on same page

Lance Gideon, The Reporter Times

MORGAN COUNTY

Officials in Morgan County have plenty of opinions on ambulance service provided in the county, but there’s one thing everybody can agree on — taxpayers should get what they pay for.

On Sept. 11, 2017, Morgan County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) became official as a county owned-and-operated ambulance service, thereby giving many residents in Morgan County their first advance life support (ALS) service.

The process to create Morgan County EMS started in April 2016, but the county has been working for years to get an ambulance service. Last year, it finally happened.

In 2017, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) approved an additional property tax levy — equaling 13.9 cents per $100 of assessed evaluation — to pay for Morgan County EMS.

According to Morgan County Auditor Dan Bastin, when the county laid out its plan to establish an ambulance service in Morgan County, the council budgeted for the services to be provided in the areas that did not already have an ALS ambulance service operated by a governmental entity.

Morgan County Commissioner Ryan Goodwin said when the county was deciding where Morgan County EMS would be provided and how it would approach the DLGF about taxation, some areas would be carved out of the plan.

“Essentially, the standard that we put out was if you are receiving ALS-level service and you are paying for it somewhere in your tax rate, then that was an area that was likely going to be carved out,” Goodwin said.

According to Goodwin, the only two townships in Morgan County that met that description were Brown and Madison townships, located at the north end of the county in the Mooresville area.

Residents of Brown and Madison townships already had ALS service funded through their respective governments, which were based within those townships. Therefore, they were not included in the additional property tax levy.

But two others townships have agreements with entities outside their townships. Clay Township contracts with Brown, and Harrison Township contracts with White River Township in Johnson County.

In light of that agreement, Harrison argues that it, too, provides ambulance service, and thus, taxpayers are paying the additional tax levy for services they don’t use.

Harrison Township

In a guest column appearing in today’s Reporter-Times, members of the Harrison Township Fire Department state they feel that the 13.9-cent tax levy is a double tax for a “duplication of services,” which are already being provided. They contend that a 6-cent tax rate already in place covers the cost of all fire and EMS activities in Harrison Township.

According to Bastin, when the DLGF was investigating the 13.9-cent tax rate, it looked to see if there would be any double taxation for EMS service, which is the reason only Brown and Madison townships were exempted from the levy.

When it comes to Harrison Township, the 6-cent tax is strictly for fire protection, according to Bastin.

“(The 6-cent tax) covers nothing for ALS service,” Bastin said. “I mean, the ALS service is being provided by outside of the township services coming in.”

According to Harrison Township Fire Chief Dave Allison, the township has provided residents an ambulance service going back more than 20 years. He confirmed that Harrison Township currently has an agreement, which goes back to 2011, for ambulance service with White River Township in Johnson County.

“They are doing it because of a contract that we have in place with them,” Allison said.

Allison said the township has also contracted with Myers Ambulance Service and Rural/Metro Ambulance in the past.

For Bastin, an outside contract is not sufficient to qualify under DLGF standards, since “you, as a governmental entity,” should be providing it as “an operation of your governmental entity” to meet the criteria.

“Where it talks about ‘Harrison Township provides an ALS service,’ (it) is not necessarily true,” said Morgan County EMS Director Donnie Warren. “White River Township provides a service.”

Warren believes it is the taxpayers of Johnson County who are actually getting hurt by the agreement.

Allison said the 6-cent tax rate is for the township to provide fire, rescue and ambulance services through the fire department.

“We provide fire, we provide rescue, and we provide that ambulance through contracts,” Allison said.

Disregarded dispatch

As a result of those outside agreements, there are many residents who are paying for ambulance service with their tax dollars but not receiving the benefits, according to Warren.

That is because when Morgan County EMS is dispatched to Clay and Harrison townships they often get disregarded, said Warren.

In a letter dated Dec. 30, 2010, Allison sent a letter to then 911 Dispatch Director Greg Williams that explained, as of 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2011, the proper order to call ambulances “on any and all incidents.” The first two on the list are from White River Township, followed by Madison Township, Rural Metro Greenwood, two from Rural Metro Martinsville, one from Madison Township, and Morgan County.

Now that Rural Metro is no longer operating in the area and the county has its own ambulance service, officials would like to see Morgan County EMS be the first call made.

“It is not us wanting to encroach upon areas that they covered prior to this,” Warren said. “It is simply making sure that the taxpayer has what they are paying for.”

During a Morgan County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 16, Warren asked for the commissioners’ blessing to initiate the process for providing ambulance service to the residents who are paying the taxes for it.

“We have a service that is organized to provide service in all of the areas except for Brown and Madison (townships) and Mooresville,” Bastin said.

In Bastin’s opinion, residents of Morgan County paying for the new Morgan County EMS deserve the service they’re funding.

“So the request to the commissioners was to notify dispatch that in all areas — except for Brown, Madison and Mooresville — that the Morgan County EMS service is the primary ambulance service for those areas,” Bastin said.

Warren said that county commissioners need to instruct the county’s dispatch director to make sure county units are not being disregarded.

“When it comes down from the commissioners, they are the executive body for the county,” Warren said. “That should be it.”

He expects a resolution being added to the ordinance that created Morgan County EMS.

Goodwin said he believes the commissioners will most likely instruct the dispatch center to use Morgan County EMS as the primary provider in Clay and Harrison townships.

Courtesy of the Reporter-TImes.

[jrcook416]

Officials want townships to ditch outside agreements, provide county EMS

Keith Rhoades, The Reporter-Times.

MORGAN COUNTY

It is time to fight the battle.

That was the message Morgan County Central Dispatch Director Scott Hamilton told the Morgan County Board of Commissioners during a discussion on ambulance service at its meeting Tuesday morning.

Hamilton's comment was in response to county Emergency Medical Services Director Donnie Warren's request for the commissioners to require the use of the county's ambulance service in all areas of the county, with the exception of Brown and Madison townships.

Warren said there are residents who are paying the county tax for county ambulance service but not receiving it because of private agreements that have been made between some officials.

History of coverage

For many years, ambulance service was provided by several local fire departments. Those departments included Adams and Ashland (A and A), Paragon, Gregg and Morgantown. While those ambulances made many runs, most of the time, the ambulances were staffed by volunteers. There were times the response was delayed, and a few times, no one was available to respond. The city of Martinsville entered into contracts for 911 ambulance coverage with private companies. In time, citing a lack of income, those private companies pulled out.

The Brown and Madison township fire departments formed their own tax-supported ambulance services.

In addition to covering its own township, Brown Township ambulances covered Monroe and Clay townships and responded by request to other areas of the county. Madison Township's ambulance also responded to areas outside the township when called.

When the county made the decision to form its own tax-supported ambulance service, both Brown and Madison townships elected not to be included in the county's plan, and residents of both townships were not included in the county's tax plan for ambulance service.

When proposed, there was some resistance to the county's ambulance plan. In the end, the county purchased ambulances from Morgantown, Paragon and Gregg Township. Paragon and Gregg had two ambulances apiece and each has kept a remaining ambulance for emergency use.

A&A has kept its ambulance in service and still responds for emergencies.

Present problems

When the county service became operational on Sept. 11, 2017, two other townships declined to be a part of the service.

According to Warren, the Clay Township trustee entered into an agreement with Brown Township for ambulance coverage. The county dispatch center was instructed to call Brown Township for medical problems in Clay Township.

Warren said the Harrison Township fire chief entered into an agreement with the White River Township Fire Department in Johnson County for ambulance service.

Officials said an A&A Township Fire Department EMS worker has been disregarding the county's ambulance, opting instead for an ambulance from a neighboring county to respond to medical emergencies. According to county officials, that worker is also employed by that out-of-county ambulance service.

According to one A&A firefighter, however, the township can get a quicker response from the out-of-county ambulance than it can from the county ambulance.

Warren said there have been complaints from residents who are paying for the county service but receiving service from other providers.

Warren acknowledged there are times during a major incident that assistance may be needed from outside agencies.

"We have run into Brown Township to help them when they need it," he said, adding that at times, they need help from others as well.

At the end of the day, cooperation is key but official protocol is needed.

"We have to work together, "he said, but the county needs to be the primary agency to provide service to its residents, he added.

That was the same thing Hamilton said to commissioners. He said when the service became operational, those townships said they did not want to be a part of the service.

"That causes a delay in response," he said.

When there is a medical problem in Clay Township, the county dispatches the fire department. Then dispatchers must call the Mooresville Police Department, who dispatches the fire department, and have that agency dispatch the ambulance to the location.

Hamilton said they let the situation go on because they had to get the service going and they did not need any additional problems.

But now, Hamilton said the time has come "to fight the battle and get it corrected."

Possible solution

Hamilton said he wants the commissioners to look at changing the way emergencies are dispatched.

"We need to dispatch by Geo Zone," he said, referring to dispatch based on location and travel time, which means the closest available service is sent to the emergency.

"It doesn't make sense to send Paragon Fire to an incident near (Ind.) 37 and Pine Drive when Washington Township Fire Department is up the road."

Hamilton was referring to the many crashes that have occurred in that area. The Paragon Fire Co. had to travel by county roads to the location. The Washington Township Fire Department has a four-lane highway to use.

Warren agreed that dispatching needs to be updated to provide better coverage.

Both men said with I-69 coming, there will need to be changes to the way fire and EMS respond to incidents.

Warren said he had discussed the matter with county attorney Rod Bray, who could not attend Tuesday's meeting.

He said Bray told him that under state law, township trustees must provide fire coverage for residents. The law does not say they have to provide EMS coverage, Warren said. He said that Bray told him that trustees have no authority to say what ambulance service is dispatched to their area.

After discussing the matter, the commissioners voted to have Bray prepare a resolution that requires the use of the county's ambulance service in all townships except for Brown and Madison. That resolution will be voted on at the Feb. 5 commissioner meeting.

Extending service

Warren asked the commissioners to consider an agreement with Liberty Township in Hendricks County for ambulance service. Warren said the township lost its ALS certification and is only a BLS provider. He said if they need a medical, they need to call for assistance. Warren said they would only cover the southern half of the township. He said they have an ambulance based in the Monroe Township Fire Station.

"It's only a short drive up (Ind.) 39 into Hendricks County," he said.

He said they have asked for help and if the commissioners approve, it will be a way to assist a neighbor and generate revenue for the county.

Warren said run numbers show there will be a need to add a third ambulance at the Martinsville location. He said there may be a need to add a second ambulance to the Monroe Township station.

The commissioners will vote on the request at the February meeting.

Barring 911 service

Warren said there is a need for an ordinance to bar the use of private ambulance services for 911 service. He said there is nothing wrong with a private service being used by hospitals and nursing homes to transport non-emergency patients. But he said, they should not be involved in responding to 911 calls. He said the county's ambulance service is a county agency but it is also a business. Warren said to maintain the highest quality of service, the county needs to be free from private ambulances being used for 911 calls. He said one of the private services that provided coverage to Martinsville is going out of business in Indiana at the end of the month.

The commissioners will vote on the request at the February meeting.

Courtesy of the Martinsville Reporter-Times.

[jrcook416]

Indiana Fire Instructor, January 24, 2018 - update

[jrcook416]

Indiana Fire Instructor, January 10, 2018 - update

[jrcook416]

Beta in progress!

Our beta test at Brown Township (Morgan) is well under way.   The last time I talked to the instructor, our students were really liking the fact that they could do lectures, tests, and quizzes outside of class.  

The students will finish up this week and I will keep you all informed on how it went! 

[jrcook416]

Back in the Studio...again...

I’m back in the studio this morning working on our beta test for Indiana Fire Instructor I.  We’re going to be testing in two different locations this coming month.  I’m watching videos, cleaning up the Moodle interface, and getting ready to have a meeting with my beta tester down in Morgan County this week. 

A little about this whole experiment started:  Last January, I taught Fire Instructor I to a group of students in Morgan County out of Brooklyn Fire.  

We (the Brooklyn training instructors) had been kicking around the idea of using distributed education for regular department in-service to maximize time on the drill ground.  We also were playing with the other idea of recording state-level certification courses and putting the recorded lectures online internally so that anyone could attend at any time.  Volunteers could attend in their spare time, paid guys could sit down and watch the lectures whenever available, and it would be a win for everybody. I got a suggestion from Charlie Heflin, one of our instructors (and the state LEPC coordinator on the hazardous materials side) to set up a webinar.  So I found FreeConferenceCall.com, installed their software, and encoded away.  Every class was captured and sent to YouTube.  

I did several things at the same time: I recorded the video lectures using my laptop, the onboard microphone, and a set of monitors to review what the students were seeing. I then encoded to my local laptop, streamed live to YouTube, and had YouTube videos created automatically on the fly.  After the sessions, I went back and cleaned up all of the dead air spaces and the audio and video up where possible.

My pass rate on the students that finished the class was 100% on the first go with the State test.  

We took these results to Frank Lipski’s Flipped Fire Training class at FDIC.  Frank gave us some ideas and inspiration. Soon after, Charlie was transferred within the Office of the State Fire Marshal to become Quality Assurance/Curriculum Development Manager for the Indiana Fire and Public Safety Academy Training System.  

Naturally, he pitched the idea of distributed education to his boss (who was already heading in this direction), who pitched the idea around to his guys, who then asked me to come in and show them what I was doing, and then they pitched the idea to the Indiana Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education,  who green-lit a beta test. 

I even found out that there were several instructors playing with this idea throughout the State.  I networked a bit with the instructors slowly, starting with a member of the Board over around Terre Haute.  Come to find out, he had been working on videos for the curriculum we use here in Indiana.  We took a trip up to DHS District One and met with the District Training Coordinator and the District Assistant Training Coordinator who gave us some ideas and offered to be a second beta test site.   So next month, we’ll be beta testing with a group of four to six students at Morgan County and a group of some students at District One. 

If you’re an Indiana Fire instructor with an interest in distributed education, or you have a distributed education course going on and would like to help getting the distributed education model for the Academy off the ground state-wide, please email me at jcook1(at)dhs.in.gov or feel free to hit the “I have a question” or “Add to the Discussion” buttons on the main blog page.  We would love to have as many people as possible doing this to make Indiana a leader in distributed education for the Fire and Emergency Services. 

[jrcook416]

Up, up to the clouds ahead, don't look back.

Sounds like a music reference, doesn’t it?  For those of you playing at home betting that I’m quoting song lyrics, you’re right.  It’s a Pitbull reference from “Shut It Down”.  It’s plastered up on my monitors at work, I listen to the song at least once or twice a week, but it summarizes what I expect to do with my skills and knowledge.

It’s taken me since 2003 to get to this point.  Let’s see here, 2017 less 2003 is....fourteen (14).  Fourteen years to finally get to where I’m using my talents from my Bachelor’s of Arts and my soon-to-be-complete Associate’s in Applied Science.  

It’s fitting that my first Tumblr post here talks about aspirations and goals.  Seven years ago, I would have never thought that I would be out of the restaurant business and doing something in Public Safety.  Eleven years ago, I wouldn’t have even thought of being a firefighter.  Fourteen years ago, and I would have never thought that I’d be a professional Tier I engineer during the day and a fire department Lieutenant at night and on the weekends.

But this blog is about a lot of different things.  It’s about my journey to where I am.  It’s about taking that knowledge and giving it to other people.  I’ve discovered with my career, I love to teach.  I love to motivate and inspire.  So I hope that some of the things I talk about here will give you some perspective, soon-to-be loyal reader.   

Here we will talk about innovation and cutting-edge medicine.  We’ll talk about how to reach those Millenial firefighters and EMTs.  We will broach many a subject.

I’m glad you’re along for the ride.  Now let’s change the world, one student at a time.