Bxtop Personal Narrative
I have been a member of the Canadian Forces for the past thirty years and for the last five years I have been attached to a deployable unit. This means that whenever wherever material or personnel are required to complete a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) mission, my unit is tasked to get them there. We are capable of aerial deliver of troops and equipment, anywhere, even to isolated and austere locations.
In September 2013 I participated in a two week replenishment exercise, called BOXTOP, at CFS Alert, Nunavut. This station is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in world. Although this location is consider a hardship post, Television channels and limited internet access is still available at the station. There is no Wifi, computer access is limited and personal internet connections are not available. Skype and Facebook are the two main methods used by the 72 full-time personnel (there on a six-month rotation) to keep in touch with the families. The outside temperature can range from 6.7°C to -33.6°C without the windshield; as such much of the station is devoted to indoor recreation to help personnel socialize during off hours and reduce the feeling of being isolated. …show more content…
Prior to being selected for this deployment, I had registered at Loyalist College for my very first online course. Because of the deployability requirements from my unit, I believed that online learning was the most appropriate learning environment to try because of its flexibility with time and location. What better way to test this theory out with, than on a two week deployment.
My shift hours in Alert were from 7 am to 7 pm, which left me 12 hours to explore that station, work on my course and sleep. Not as easy as it sounds. After work, almost everyone sought out computer access to communicate with their families. I felt it was unfair to request time to work on my course when there were limited computers and interacting with families was an important aspect of overcoming the feeling of isolation.
In an effort to avoid the peak hour rush, I decided to get up in the middle of the night to use the computers.
Unbeknownst to me, I was not the only one who also thought of this. Others found that this time frame provided them with the opportunity for some private access time as most computers were located in the TV room where everyone frequented after work. Realising that I did not really need to access the computer over a long period of time, and I could keep it to a few minutes at time, I decided to tether my laptop to my mobile phone. In my room I was then able to access and download the course content and submit my posts all by accessing my data connection. Not sure of what the cost was going to be, I kept my phone on Flight mode until I was ready to upload/download
information.
Although there were many challenges to accessing the internet while on deployment, I was able to find work-arounds and maintain my studies. This experience was an eye-opener of what to expect with online courses and deployments. Over the past 4 years I have continued to complete all my studies online as I deploy to whatever location my unit brings me to, with little issues from time to time to overcome.
In September 2013 I participated in a two week replenishment exercise, called BOXTOP, at CFS Alert, Nunavut. This station is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in world. Although this location is consider a hardship post, Television channels and limited internet access is still available at the station. There is no Wifi, computer access is limited and personal internet connections are not available. Skype and Facebook are the two main methods used by the 72 full-time personnel (there on a six-month rotation) to keep in touch with the families. The outside temperature can range from 6.7°C to -33.6°C without the windshield; as such much of the station is devoted to indoor recreation to help personnel socialize during off hours and reduce the feeling of being isolated. …show more content…
Prior to being selected for this deployment, I had registered at Loyalist College for my very first online course. Because of the deployability requirements from my unit, I believed that online learning was the most appropriate learning environment to try because of its flexibility with time and location. What better way to test this theory out with, than on a two week deployment.
My shift hours in Alert were from 7 am to 7 pm, which left me 12 hours to explore that station, work on my course and sleep. Not as easy as it sounds. After work, almost everyone sought out computer access to communicate with their families. I felt it was unfair to request time to work on my course when there were limited computers and interacting with families was an important aspect of overcoming the feeling of isolation.
In an effort to avoid the peak hour rush, I decided to get up in the middle of the night to use the computers.
Unbeknownst to me, I was not the only one who also thought of this. Others found that this time frame provided them with the opportunity for some private access time as most computers were located in the TV room where everyone frequented after work. Realising that I did not really need to access the computer over a long period of time, and I could keep it to a few minutes at time, I decided to tether my laptop to my mobile phone. In my room I was then able to access and download the course content and submit my posts all by accessing my data connection. Not sure of what the cost was going to be, I kept my phone on Flight mode until I was ready to upload/download
information.
Although there were many challenges to accessing the internet while on deployment, I was able to find work-arounds and maintain my studies. This experience was an eye-opener of what to expect with online courses and deployments. Over the past 4 years I have continued to complete all my studies online as I deploy to whatever location my unit brings me to, with little issues from time to time to overcome.