When the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) shifted away from their previous online learning platforms, JKO’s Virtual Classroom, or VCLASS, stepped in to meet their training and education needs. JKO’s VCLASS provides a distributed learning and training solution for organizations across the globe.
AFOSI uses VCLASS for their Basic Extension Program (BEP). This mandatory, 80-hour course for all probationary agents covers subjects like source operations, interviewing, crime scene skills, and targeting base level fraud. “We utilize VCLASS to deliver 90% of the course material to students, conduct daily assignments, administer the end of course test, and to conduct end of course critiques,” said AFOSI Special Agent Wade Davis, Air Force Special Investigations Academy course director.
“The biggest requirements we had at the time were tracking grading and testing requirements per the Community College of the Air Force requirements (CCAF), as BEP is a CCAF accredited course. The last important piece was that JKO sits in an UNCLASS/CUI realm so it could host all the material we wanted to present to students,” said AFOSI Special Agent Christopher Miller, Air Force Special Investigations Academy course director.
VCLASS allowed AFOSI to provide asynchronous online delivery with synchronous sessions that are a vehicle for discussion covering each of the four major sections: Source Operations, Criminal Investigative Skills Interviewing, and base level fraud. Course content includes reading material, videos, multi-media presentations and instructor-led discussions, student assignments and a final exam.
“One of the valuable features of VCLASS is the ability for students to access the BEP training material, and their previous submitted assignments during their BEP evolution to use as a reference in the field after they graduate BEP,” said Special Agent Ryan Navarro, AFSIA course instructor. Delivering courses in an online format through JKO VCLASS allows AFSIA to provide the training to agents globally. Having the VCLASS site available to the students after they graduate helps to increase retention of knowledge and allows agents to take refresher training as needed.
Additionally, AFOSI uses VCLASS to provide a refresher course for training to previous federal law enforcement officers returning to a federal criminal investigator role within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). Through distance learning via VCLASS, these agents can receive the training they need before they start working in the field.
The VCLASS system is easy to use, with streamlined features and templates that OSI could modify to meet specific class needs. “The tools within VCLASS are very self-intuitive and user-friendly. The students can easily navigate from tab to tab, and access course material, discussion forums, assignments, test and quizzes as necessary. Instructors can create, assign, update, attach course material, review, grade test, and assignments, and provide immediate feedback to students with relative ease wherein the students are able to access, and review instructor feedback in near real time, while also maintaining access to historical course material with respect to their BEP course even after they graduate,” said SA Navarro.
Not only does JKO VCLASS provide an intuitive and globally accessible training environment, but the distributed learning platform also typically provides a significant cost savings to users. Distributed learning in general provides a significant cost savings, with the USAF saving approximately $400,000 to $1,000,000 a year in per diem and lodging costs dependent on lodging accommodations. VCLASS saves the USAF approximately, “$250,000 dollars annually, for BSIC-DL” according to SA Miller.
If you would like more information on how your organization could use VCLASS, please contact JKO Mr. Todd Holdren at bottie.a.holdren.civ@mail.mil.
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JKO's primary mission is to provide the joint force with access to world-class joint training and education. This includes ensuring our partners get the right content, in the right format, delivered in the right way, whether that be through self-paced courses available on demand or hybrid instruction via the VCLASS virtual classroom environment. Login to JKO today to see these products and services.