Firefighting Technology: Training with EVALS

By MATTHEW JEWETT

In today’s fire service training environment, we are all experiencing the challenges of the “new learner.” The inconsistency of instruction among instructors, the retirement of experienced firefighters, and reductions in training staff from budget cuts have drastically challenged the fire service to pass on to this new learner the skills, knowledge, and experience within our ranks. So, how do we bridge this gap of inexperience, and in what ways can we connect efficiently with the new learner to ensure that the fire service progresses?

Whether we are teaching in the college academy environment, for entry-level positions, or for career development, it has become increasingly challenging to teach the new learner because of increased expectations. The new learner is used to instant gratification and feedback as a result of growing up with the Internet and the immediate access to information he has had at his fingertips through mobile devices. This new learner represents more than just the up-and-coming younger generation. Because society is saturated with technology, we are all changing the way we absorb information. The question for us-as educators and trainers-is how can we effectively connect to students despite all of these new expectations?

(1, 2) Photos courtesy of Matthew Cole.

Developed by Sacramento (CA) Metropolitan Fire District Captain Matthew Cole, EVALS software is a dynamic, skills-based learning management system that is efficient at all levels within an organization, a department, or a college. EVALS was developed out of necessity for a smarter training tool that administers training in a more transparent and consistent fashion. The end result is a learning management system focused on providing individuals with a high level of consistent skill-based training. Not only does this software address the major issues previously mentioned, but its use has reaped additional benefits.

Mobile technology is ingrained in the everyday lives of modern students. EVALS enables them to learn and achieve the expected class objectives with a dynamic cloud-based platform. The platform is a seamless way to transition from pen and paper evaluations to a digital scoring and data management system. With it, instructors can create and develop specialized skill sheets and instructional videos to prepare students for class, clinical, and field training.

EVALS has proven to make fire academy programs more efficient and productive, reducing the costs of paper and printing and granting instant visual feedback for the instructors and students. With EVALS, you can use mobile devices to record video and give audio feedback of the students’ performances. These audio and video recordings are instantaneously uploaded to a student’s profile, which the student and administrator can then view at any time. This access is granted beyond the academy term; the student can access all of his performance videos, training documents, and evaluations for-potentially-the rest of his career. After students are evaluated on the drill ground or in the classroom, they can see video of themselves and hear audio and written feedback from the instructor on the exact skill they completed less than one minute prior; they can now compare their performances with the standards set by the class. Instructors can use any mobile device-including a smartphone-for scoring, and training information is available through secure log-ins anywhere there is a Web connection.

As new learners transition from the academy drill ground to the fire department drill ground, EVALS continues to assist them and their parent departments with solutions such as digital taskbooks. Whether using a probationary or career development/promotions taskbook, the end-user and the administration benefit greatly by having secure and safe access across multiple devices to their records of completion. Gone are the days of spilling coffee on your paper taskbook or outright losing it.

Universities benefit from the EVALS platform because of the dynamic calendar, seamless communication center, e-mail notifications, custom evaluation forms, document storage, and record management. The EVALS system is also the first platform to enable community and junior colleges to administer career- and industry-based education in the most efficient manner. It helps students learn while they are not at school, giving them access to all of the pertinent information through the use of documents and videos all in one location.

With this platform, you can prepare students for the real-life scenarios with video evaluations. Whether you are evaluating the proper technique for installing a radiator or taking a blood pressure, students can review, perform, and view themselves doing the skill to their utmost ability.

Evals.net is easily accessed on the Web through the program’s unique subdomain address; it, therefore, does not require software to be installed onto college computers or mobile devices.

The goal of EVALS is to provide the highest level of training while ensuring skills are delivered in a way this generation of students can retain for success. The learning management system that Evals.net provides has added tremendous support in bridging the experience gap, connecting to students, and holding educators and trainers accountable to the standards they set.

MATTHEW JEWETT is a fire technology instructor for Sierra College. He is a retired engineer from the Sacramento Metropolitan (CA) Fire District.