As you know by now, since its inception in 2000 under the leadership of ADM Siler (former USCG Commandant), the Academy has been an institution with no walls, exporting all of its instructor-led training to the bays, rivers, lakes, harbors, and coastline of the United States (and internationally), so that agencies and officers can receive their training in their area of operations, on their boats, and alongside their local partners. Understanding the increased challenges to time, budgets, and an evolving workforce that public safety agencies are facing all across the country (see the White Paper: Navigating the Changing Seascape of Maritime Public Safety), the Academy has used its knowledge, relationships, resources, adult learning expertise, and technology partnerships to provide a mobile, easily accessible and affordable solution for every officer and department.
For Officers, Agencies, Departments, and Organizations - An Opportunity to Save Time and Money
In a unique Private-Public Partnership, the NMLEA has worked with recognized leaders in the online/e-learning workspace, and subject matter experts from the public safety community, to provide a holistic solution for public safety training. The AcademyOnline Program provides agencies with a wealth of online learning tools that encompass all aspects of maritime law enforcement, public safety, and emergency response. Most importantly, the AcademyOnline Program allows you as an agency, to transform your traditional Instructor-Led Training (ILT) into an adaptable, affordable, accessible mobile learning platform.
For Trainers, SMEs, and Professional Instructors - An Opportunity to Reach Further, and Be Rewarded
It also provides trainers and professional instructors an opportunity to bring their skills to the mobile world, reaching more people across the country (and internationally) than they ever could before, without having to invest time, effort, and money into the digital learning landscape. There is no research that has to be done on what LMS to purchase, or time spent searching for a platform to use to record your teaching. There is no learning-curve or struggle trying to figure out how to translate a traditional Instructor-Led Training (ILT) course into the online environment. The Academy staff will work with you and facilitate the process.
Introducing "aLEX", The Academy's Accessible, Adaptable, Affordable, and Advanced Learning Exchange
Accessible:
For managers and supervisors
Time is an ever decreasing commodity, especially when it comes to training. Managers and supervisors are continuously trying to keep up with training standards, requirements, currency, and documentation. All of this is made easy through our aLEX Learning Management System, that allows you to view any of your staff's training record at any time from anywhere. You can see how much time they have spent on a particular course or module, questions that they got correct, where they left off and when. Most importantly, you can set up alerts to remind them of courses that they need to take to meet a certain requirement, and remind you of those who have not yet met that requirement.
For learners/officers/first responders
Going "mobile" means that learning can keep up with the learner's busy schedule and responsibilities. It means that now officers and first responders can access course material instantly from the convenience of their home, office, or while on patrol, and do so at the time that works best for them. You can learn from your desktop at work, from your laptop at home, on your smartphone while sitting beachside, or on your Mobile Data Terminal on your break time.
For trainers/SMEs
The Academy recognizes that our community of professionals is full of Expert Trainers and SME's who want to expand their reach and share their knowledge/curricula with first responders throughout the country (and the world.) Now, through our Advanced Learning Exchange (aLEX), professionals can upload their course material, and upon Academy approval, start to share it with officers, first responders, and public safety professionals, faster and further than they could ever do on their own. By using our Master Trainers and Instructional Designers, trainers/SMEs can convert their material quickly and efficiently to a mobile learning platform, and save thousands of dollars and hours it would have taken to do it otherwise. Most importantly, that can get rewarded for their knowledge and training skills by getting compensated for every one of their classes taken.
Adaptable:
Training today must keep up with an increase in requirements, and an ability to adapt to the changing environment as the workforce evolves and the job gets more complex. Learning and training programs must be able to adapt to these changes quickly and affordably, without putting any additional stress on the system, the managers, or the officers. The AcademyOnline Program accomplishes this through aLEX, by being our own internal Learning Management System, we can respond to changes quickly for our members. We provide this Learning Management System to our members as individuals (so they can keep track of their own training progress and records) and for agencies that want to utilize this Advanced tool to assist in the management, monitoring, and training records of their personnel.
Affordable:
For Agencies and Departments
As mentioned here and throughout the public safety realm, budgets shrink as operational (and training) requirements increase. Agencies are constantly looking at ways to stretch their funds and balance those training efforts. The Academy's Advanced Learning Exchange (aLEX) now provides those managers with a way to lower their training costs, without having to buy an expensive Learning Management System. Agencies can take existing curricula, and through the Academy's Master Trainers and Instructional Designers, convert those courses into mobile training programs.
For Individuals
Those officers/first responders/public safety professionals that want to improve and expand their knowledge can use the AcademyOnline Program and get access to thousands of modules that would otherwise be extremely expensive. This is an affordable way to get great training applicable to your job, your future, and your personal goals.
For Trainers
For those SMEs and trainers who have developed programs that they want to share with the who public safety/first responder community, they can upload their course material to aLEX and have it converted into a mobile training program, savings thousands of dollars.
Advanced:
Because aLEX is a platform that is owned and operated through the Academy, we can provide the latest and most advanced Learning Management System (LMS) available, while adapting to the needs of our members. aLEX allows you to manage all of your learning, individually as an officer, or as a training manager/supervisor for a whole department. Through one portal, learning is made easy, and the management of that training is made seamless, and effortless... and FREE*. That's right. We provide
our LMS free to those agencies that sign-on to have their courses converted and uploaded to the Learning Exchange.
A True Learning Exchange:
As the name suggests, this is a true learning exchange, were people from all around the country (and the world) can come together and share the best courses of instruction from recognized and accomplished professionals that meet and exceed the quality and delivery standards established by aLEX.
For the trainers, this is an opportunity to exchange curricula amongst your peers and colleagues throughout the country, and reaching public safety professionals in every town, city, county, territory, and state.
Additionally, aLEX is about Academies exchanging and sharing curricula with Academies. Often departments are limited in their available resources and are making do with what they have and what they have collected over the years with regard to their training programs. Through aLEX, those smaller departments can now access training programs from other agencies all around the country. And by capturing and implementing these best practices, agencies can enhance and improve their training, and the capabilities of their officers.
Contact us today to learn more about aLEX, and how it make a dramatic impact on your training personally, professionally, and organizationally.
For a 30 minute demo on how it works, click here.