Virtual Focus Week: No-cost courses emphasize exchanging information

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Fifteen no-cost courses are being offered by the 88th Force Support Squadron’s Education and Training Section Office via the Commercial Virtual Remote environment Jan. 25-29 during Virtual Focus Week.

Training Delivery Section personnel have been concentrating on developing and rewriting courses especially relevant and needed during the pandemic, said Michael King, human resources specialist and Focus Week program manager. Focus Week is a creative way to train and maximize student time, he continued.

“If they are working remotely, it’s a great way to connect with other students as they learn,” King said. Online attendance is open only for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base military members and Department of Defense civilians. To register, go to https://myetms.wpafb.af.mil. Registration is open and continues until three business days prior to each course.

The courses are:

■ Building a Culture of Trust: Fosters the free exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of open exchange; actively attempts to understand other points of view and clarifies information as needed; solicits feedback to ensure others understand messages as they were intended.

■ Navigating Change in the Workplace: Organizations are often challenged by the constant bombardment, faster pace and challenging process of change. Learning objectives for this class include assessing individuals’ change-management skills and areas for development; creating conditions for change readiness within the workplace; and understanding the attitudes, aptitudes, motivation and behaviors that build support for change.

■ Conflict Management: Creative competition drives innovation; harmful conflict is the root cause of a toxic work environment. This class explores the differences between the two, along with types of conflict, levels, sources, interpersonal tools to consider, approaches and a four-step model that guides re-establishing trust between parties.

■ Creativity to Inspire Innovation: The National Defense Strategy calls for building a “more lethal, resilient and rapidly innovating Joint Force.” The instructor-led course challenges this question by discussing cognitive capital, neuroplasticity and a variety of ways for people to explore their creativity to enable innovation.

■ Developing Learning Objectives: Discover what a learning objective is and how to write a good one for almost anything. Learn how to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to guide learners to a deeper level of knowledge and how to apply it in a work setting.

■ Emotional Intelligence: Have you ever wondered why some people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well? There is a reason for this – emotional intelligence. This course explores a different way of thinking about intelligence and how it can strengthen personal and professional lives. Emotional intelligence consists of selfawareness, impulse control, persistence, self-motivation, empathy and social dexterity.

■ Excel Level 1: This course introduces the skills necessary for productive development of spreadsheets, as well as how to manage and enhance multiple worksheets, charts, files and graphics. Students will explore the Excel 2013 environment, create simple formulas, and copy and move data.

■ Civilian Force Development Opportunities: This course will offer 88 FSS/FSDE Workforce Development section briefs on the various aspects and options of workforce development from the Air Force Personnel Center down to the Wright-Patt level.

■ Fostering Collaboration: To be successful, teams must adopt a “we will win” mindset. Fostering Collaboration addresses how to build a climate of trust to facilitate work relationships. This instructor-led course was derived from “Leadership Challenge,” a highly acclaimed book by Kouzes and Posner.

■ Front-Stage Customer Service: This three-hour, instructor-led course provides new employees with helpful strategies while working in the customer service industry within a military setting. Focus areas are placed on Air Force Core Values, military customs and courtesies, knowing the customer, professionalism, phone etiquette, conflict strategies and alleviating stress.

■ Understanding Your Individual Development Plan: What is in your IDP? Do you know what your developmental and functional goals are? This course will help you take control of your developmental success by providing tips and recommendations to effectively work with your supervisor/ employee to develop an IDP.

■ PowerPoint Level 1: In this course, the student will learn to create presentations; insert, format and modify presentation slides; edit graphics, charts and navigate through a Power- Point slideshow.

■ Writing for Professional Growth: Writing for Professional Growth provides assistance to personnel under the AcqDemo and DPMAP pay plans to write better self-assessment performance statements. This three-hour, instructor-led course attempts to dispel confusion regarding the writing models used to address performance accountability.

■ Discover No Cost e-Resources and Databases: The Air Force Library Program offers numerous online resources and databases at no cost to Air Force personnel (active duty and civilians). Resources are EBSCO Research Databases, Gale Online, Academic Search Ultimate, eBooks, audiobooks, Mango Languages, Ancestry Library Edition, streaming movies and more.

■ Burnout and Stress Management: This class addresses ways to prevent burnout. Organizations are using Teams and CVR Teams to conduct business. For more info, email 88FSS.FSDED.Hrworkflow@us.af.mil or your unit focal point and training manager. For CVR issues, contact your unit IT specialist.

AFLCMC Focus Week set for Jan. 25-29

Registration is now open for Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Focus Week scheduled Jan. 25-29. All courses will have a distance-learning option and should be open to the workforce regardless of duty location.

As individuals register, attention should be given to course requirements, as some courses are new to the virtual-learning environment and may be offered in a variety of platforms, including teleconference, Defense Collaboration Services and CVR Teams.

Registration for all AFL- CMC courses is available on the Acquisition Now Continuous Learning website: https://acqnow.atrrs.army.mil.

AFLCMC personnel are encouraged to keep their skills up-to-date and earn continuous learning points.

For questions or concerns, contact Jason Sibrel at Jason.Sibrel@us.af.mil.