Joining Instructions - Distance Learning (AD)

Aim

To provide students registered on DL Programmes with the information needed to understand how the distributed learning portion will be conducted and who to contact for additional information or assistance. Visit the Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMC Saint-Jean) Website under the Osside Institute section for updated information.

Introduction to the Programs

The programs are given to develop the senior non-commissioned members (NCMs) in leadership roles.

Note: For more information refer to the specific course descriptions

Background

The Qualification Standard for the ILP, ALP, SLP and SAP was approved by the Canadian Defence Academy which assumed responsibility for all CAF common professional development.

The aim of these DL courses is to provide individuals with the basic tools (skills and knowledge) necessary to perform their duties at the rank of PO1/WO, CPO2/MWO and CPO1/CWO.

These DL courses represent significant change in the approach being taken by the CAF to educate the NCM Corps. It is designed in part with a view to improving the quality of life of the students by allowing them to spend more time at home and less time at a training establishment. This is achieved through the employment of distributed learning teaching methodologies and technologies.

The DL courses are designed to give students some of the background knowledge required to successfully complete the residential portions of the ILP, SLP and SAP (the ALP is solely delivered by DL). As such, candidates must have successfully completed the DL portion of the programme before they can be registered on its residential portion.

Conduct

In accordance with DAOD 5031-8, candidates are entitled to the equivalent of 10 training days for the ILP DL, 10 training days for the ALP, 10 training days for the SLP DL, and 7 training days for the SAP DL to complete their course requirements. As such, they are not available for any duties during these training days at their home units. The onus clearly rests with the candidates to ensure they establish an unhindered and non-disruptive work environment. You must complete and sign the Unit Agreement Form and the Candidate Registration Form with your immediate supervisor and return them to us as per the course loading message’s instructions. That being said, candidates who are not supported by their chain of command in this regard are to contact, their course’s Programme Director (see Annex A).

Forms : A signed copy of the Unit Agreement Form and the Candidate Registration Form are to be sent to the Osside Institute’s DL Administrator (refer to see Annex A for contact information).

Moodle Learning Management System : The DL courses consist of a scheduled reading and a work program that will be delivered to the students using a web-enhanced format via Moodle.

DWAN: https://moodle.rmc.ca/login-eng.php
Internet: https://moodle.rmc.ca/login-eng.php

DL Teachers: Each candidate will be assigned a teacher. ALP candidates will also be assigned a military Directing Staff. Candidates will be contacted by their teacher in the week prior to the course start.

Course Material: Course material will be available online as per the schedule start date.

Essential communication

Lines of communications are vital to a successful experience on any of the Distance Learning courses. Candidates must communicate regularly with their respective teacher in order to assure the smooth conduct of the course. This essential information, to the teaching staff, will create the desired outcome which will prevent unwarranted administrative procedures. The Programmes’ Cadre are accommodating when intent is known:

  1. Intention to withdraw from the course; teachers have to be made aware ASAP as requests will not be approved past week 3 unless extraordinary circumstances apply; otherwise failure to training will be considered;
  2. Deadline extension requests must be submitted to your teachers in advance. Work submitted past agreed deadlines will lead to the start of the counselling process. Any deadline extension request of more than 7 days must be authorized by the Programme Director;
  3. Periods during which the candidates will not be able to communicate with the teacher must be indicated ASAP.

Teachers’ Availabilities

Teachers will communicate to the candidates under their responsibility their respective availabilities

Special Instructions – GBA+ prerequisite on-line training

Reference: A. CANFORGEN 154/16

Ref A Completion of the on-line training “GBA+” is now a prerequisite for following CAF common professional development programmes, which includes all programmes taught through the Osside Institute.

As such, you are all required to complete the mandated training prior to commencing the DL phase of your respective programme (ILP, ALP, SLP, or SAP). Your supervisor is required to attest that you have completed this training on the Unit Agreement Form.

The GBA+ on-line training can found at the following internet link:

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/gba-acs/index-en.html

Learning Disability Accommodation

Accommodations for learning disabilities can be requested in accordance with the DAOD 5516-5, Learning Disability Accommodation during Recruiting, Training and Education. All accommodation requests need to be approved by the Director – Personnel Generation Requirements through the candidate chain of command.

Academic Misconduct

Reference: DAOD 5019-6 - Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of another person's work without acknowledging the author/source with the intent to pass it off as your own. The verbatim or almost verbatim presentation of someone else’s work constitutes an example of plagiarism; this applies to paraphrasing or summarizing the work of others as well as direct quotations.

Cheating

Cheating is the act or attempt to give, receive, share or utilize unauthorized information or assistance before or during the writing of a text or examination. Examples of cheating include the presentation of a single work to more than one course without the permission of the instructors involved, the improper acquisition through theft, bribery, collusion or otherwise of an essay paper.

Other cases of academic misconduct

Falsification or unauthorized modification of a training or educational certificate or other record as well as obstruction of the training or educational activities of another person are further examples of academic misconduct that will not be tolerated.

Consequences

Any academic misconduct could entail the following consequences:

  1. the ordering of the completion of an honest assignment;
  2. the removal from the course or institution;
  3. other administrative action in accordance with regulations, other DAODs, orders or instructions;
  4. disciplinary action under the Code of Service Discipline.

If an academic misconduct occurs, the Osside Institute Chief Instructor will initiate a preliminary review. The findings will then be presented to the Osside Institute Director for further recommendations. He can then decide to set up a Preliminary Review Board, inform the Royal Military College Saint-Jean Commandant, and take the necessary administrative action. The findings will be submitted to the candidate’s Unit Commander for further action, if necessary.

Annex A - Telephone Numbers

Osside Institute
Poste Téléphone
Osside Institute Director CSN: 668-5850
Commercial: 450-358-6777 poste 6685850
Osside Institute Chief Instructor
SAP Director
CSN: 668-5859
Commercial: 450-358-6777 poste 6685859
SLP Director CSN: 668-5854
Commercial: 450-358-6777 poste 6685854
ALP Director CSN: 668-5750
Commercial: 450-358-6777 poste 6685750
ILP Director CSN: 668-5858
Commercial: 450-358-6777 poste 6685858

Annex B - Technical Specifications

Moodle

Candidates will need to activate their Moodle account prior to the beginning of the course. The instructions can be found in the email sent by the Moodle administrator. It is also strongly recommended that candidates familiarize themselves with the platform’s navigation. If you cannot access the platform, please inform your teacher as soon as possible in order to resolve the situation quickly, preferably before the start of the course.

Moodle is an online Learning Management System (LSM) accessible through a web portal. This platform does not require installation and is functional on a wide variety of devices (PC, Mac, smartphone, tablet). In order to take full advantage of Moodle, the technical specifications for use are:

  • Operating systems supported to date;
    • Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7
    • Mac OSX
    • Linux
  • Recent and up-to-date browser;
    • Chrome
    • Firefox
    • Safari
    • Edge
    • Internet Explorer (IE)
  • An internet connection – broad band capability
  • For wireless devices, a 3G or 4G/LTE connection
  • Further information is available at: https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Moodle_3.5_release_notes

Please note that we do not recommend accessing Moodle strictly from DWAN to complete the course as some elements of course content could be blocked.

Technical Support

If you are having difficulties connecting, please follow these instructions to reset your password:

  1. Access the Moodle portal at https://moodle.rmc.ca ;
  2. Click on the Moodle Client: Forgot your password? link;
  3. Enter the username or the email address that was used on registration;
  4. Follow the instructions provided in the email that you will receive.

If you do not receive an email afterward, contact your teacher or Moodle support by email at CMRSJ-IM@cmrsj-rmcsj.ca

There will be no technical support provided by RMC Saint-Jean regarding personal computer equipment.

Zoom

Note:

Despite the vulnerability found in Zoom, the Canadian Defence Academy approves the use of this platform within the security guidelines as an instructional media platform.

This videoconferencing platform is not available from a DWAN work station.

 

Candidates must have an active account for the use of the zoom videoconference platform. If you do not already have a Zoom account, you must register for free before the course start at the following link (https://zoom.us/signup) and download the app from: “Google Play” or the “Apple App Store”. While downloading the Zoom app is not necessary, its installation on your device assures an optimal experience and avoids many issues. It is strongly recommended that candidates install the software on their personal computer before the beginning of the course. It is also possible to install it on mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, but the experience of using the mobile version of the app is less user-friendly.

Candidates must make sure when creating their Zoom profile, that your Display Name must be your first and last name only. You must be easily identifiable in order for your teacher/instructor to grant you access to learning activities held on Zoom. It is expected that candidates familiarize themselves with Zoom prior to the start of the course. If you have questions regarding the use of the application, please communicate with your teacher/instructor as soon as possible.

The technical specifications for use are:

  • Operating systems supported to date;
    • Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7
    • Mac OSX
    • Linux
  • Recent and up-to-date browser;
    • Chrome
    • Firefox
    • Safari
    • Edge
    • Internet Explorer (IE)
  • Speakers and a microphone either integrated, powered by USB or wireless/Bluetooth
  • Webcam or webcam HD either integrated, powered by USB or wireless/Bluetooth
  • Further information is available at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-Configuration-minimal

If necessary, you will find the procedure to reset your password at the following link: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005171726-Resetting-your-password

For further assistance, consult https://support.zoom.us/hc/fr?_ga=2.84655833.1972924983.1600720174-660737980.1584985266. Unfortunately, no further technical support is available to holders of free Zoom accounts.

Other required software

The teachers and staff of the Robert Osside Institute are working constantly to innovate in order to improve the learning experience of its candidates. In order to fully appreciate the efforts that were made and to participate entirely in the learning activities, candidates must make sure to possess the required software. No software is provided by the Robert Osside Institute. The required software is:

  • A PDF reader software (example: Acrobat Reader, FoxIT Reader, PDF reader, etc.)
  • A software office suite allowing the consultation of Word, Excel or PowerPoint document (example: Office, Open Office, etc.)
  • A MultiMedia player, usually included in the operating system. But other options are available (example: VLC, QuickTime, RealPlayer, etc.)
  • A file compression/decompression software, usually included in the operating system. But other options are available (example: 7zip, WinRAR)
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