Train the Trainer: Tips and Tricks

Goal:

We want the students to feel comfortable in using software and mobile devices to do damage assessment.  Chances are they will not remember how to do the steps we teach, but will be more amenable to a 10-minute mobile app refresher during the pre-brief before the operation. 

Exercise:

•       Keep class sizes to no more than 8 per instructor
•       Pair or triple up on tasks
•       Create the exercise in the location where the training is held.  (see Train the Trainer: Exercise Setup Instructions)
•       Have the students go outside to do the damage assessment rather than doing a table-top.  (No tracks will show up.) 
•       The exercise scenario does not have students contact the occupants. Therefore, the students should only complete the form based on the information available in the exercise.
•       Warn the students to be careful about taking pictures, especially of residences.
•       If at all possible, try to select structures that are walking distance and only select a handful of structures per task.
•       Keep this part of the training to under 30 mins and make sure they come back
•       Keep the Ops View open while they go out into the field. (Remember to click on the Auto Refresh under Settings.)
•       In the Ops View show the results of each task at the end of the exercise to help reinforce why we’re doing this. 

Devices:

•       Create user accounts for attendees and email the credentials
•       Plan for the first 10 minutes to have students download the app to the device and log in
•       Find the Crisis Track mobile app by searching for “Crisis Track” in either the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or the Window Store.
•       Make sure the students are using the mobile app and not on a web browser using the web app.
•       Be prepared to provide users with credentials and change credentials in the admin console if need be.
•       Have 1-2 devices you can lend out 
•       Make sure the students click to allow the Crisis Track app to track their locations and camera
•       Learn where to change these setting on both Android and Apple when they don’t select this and they have problems

Console:

•       Keep this simple and only show what’s needed. There is online help for the less-used functionality
•       Please show the users where they can change their password and where the help documentation is (both are in the upper right corner of the screen).

Presentation:

•       Keep in mind that the non-emergency management students will have no idea of why we do damage assessment and the different grant programs available.  It’s important for them to understand that the information they collect.
•       With that said, I’d condense or avoid the typical FEMA process slide, especially since we’re only dealing with components that are pre-declaration.
•       Practice connecting your device to a projector.
•       At the end of the training, please make sure that they can use support@crisistrack.com to answer any software questions they may have.