I dont think I’d be able to cope.
And these days, that is a very very big if…the last time they did it was during 7/7 attacks and it caused more problems than it fixed.
We have published a Squadron Implementation Case Study on Bader SharePoint which has been written by OC 1279 (Melton Mowbray) Squadron, Flt Lt Daniel McGlynn, who is one of the Beta trials Squadron Commanding Officers.
Flt Lt McGlynn explains how the unit prepared before, during and after the release of Cadet Portal. The article is well worth a read for all Squadrons so they can get ready for the upcoming release and benefit from the Beta units experiences.
If you have a Bader account, you can access the case study here:
https://rafac.sharepoint.com/…/…/SitePages/Cadet-Portal.aspx
The article explains how 1279 prepared for Cadet Portal and what cultural changes they have made to make it a success on the unit and ensure the cadets (and staff) make use of the new functionality.
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i do the same, but our only incoming call is from my Mum, she often finds she has rung a local takeaway service when she rings me! 
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Dial 17070 and it’ll tell you
The deployment to Durham/Northumberland Wing was successful today!
All of the accounts for all of the cadets were generated (around 1100+) - however, there were still 280 cadets missing email addresses from their SMS records. Another 77 had email addresses but were not correct as we got bounce back messages for these cadets through Notify (mass email provider).
The account generation script is running every hour - so if a cadet (who has not been sent a welcome email because they didn’t have a registered email address) then passes their email address to the sqn and staff update the SMS record, the script will identify that and send them an account within an hour. Best case, you hit the script at minute 59 and 59 seconds so you only have to wait 1 second for it to run - worst case you have to wait 60 minutes.
Sqns are using the Resend Welcome Email Burton and we can see that happening through the Notify statistics.
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Will it show OC’s anywhere in a list form who doesn’t have an account?
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Well done! All looks very good.
We had our Wg Trg Day yesterday, with our Bader PoC doing a special presentation about Cadet Portal, so hopefully that same approach will be also happening elsewhere.
Negative- MTPAS was specifically-introduced after 7/7, in order to permit targetted exemptions (in all sorts of ways !-) for mobile users, rather than the blanket impacts of ACCOLC (which has been retired- pretty much)
All cadets will have an account which they can access as long as they have at least one contact method to authenticate to - ideally they need an email and phone on their record.
If you go to SMS —> Reports —> Contact Sheet, you can see a report of all of your cadets and their contact details on record so you can easily identify gaps.
If you go to SMS —> Unit Admin —> User Accounts and scroll to the bottom of the page, you can see a list of all cadet accounts. You will also see the Resend Welcome Email buttons…
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I noticed this tonight!
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Two new posts have been advertised for the VSDT today:
Volunteer Software Development Team (VSDT) - Learning Management System (LMS) Manager - RAFAC Volunteer Post Vacancy
https://rafac.sharepoint.com/sites/interim/Lists/ACO%20Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=815&Source=https%3A%2F%2Frafac.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2Finterim%2Fdefault.aspx&ContentTypeId=0x010400F2EDDB30DAD85447A407646B140F79AA
A decision paper was submitted to the Command Board and the Training Customer Executive Board (CEB) on the future direction of Ultilearn and whether or not a replacement should be sourced.
The recommended option was that we should replace Ultilearn with an open source platform with support from a dedicated primary duty volunteer post in the VSDT. Further information about the preferred software option will be shared shortly.
This role will be responsible for the design, development, integration and implementation of the replacement software. They will be working alongside the two TG posts which were advertised previously. This role is only focused on the delivery and ongoing maintenance/support of the platform, not the content itself. Responsibility for the development of content sits firmly with Training Ground (TG).
It is primary duty Flt Lt (acting,paid) role for suitable candidates.
Volunteer Software Development Team (VSDT) - Communications Manager - RAFAC Volunteer Post Vacancy
https://rafac.sharepoint.com/sites/interim/Lists/ACO%20Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=814&Source=https%3A%2F%2Frafac.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2Finterim%2Fdefault.aspx&ContentTypeId=0x010400F2EDDB30DAD85447A407646B140F79AA
The Comms Manager role is there to help us communicate more effectively both internally and externally on the software projects the VSDT is engaged with. Primarily, this role will support the comms around Cadet Portal and then expand over time into other things as well. It is an any-rank secondary duty position.
It is a secondary duty role, any rank.
If you would like to discuss either of the roles with me directly, my contact details are in the adverts themselves.
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Tomorrow is a big day - 11 Wings consisting of 261 Squadrons around 11,684 cadets will be getting access to Cadet Portal for the first time.
Cadets that have email addresses registered on their Bader SMS accounts will receive welcome emails from Commandant Air Cadets shortly after we generate the accounts which we hope will be before lunch.
Cadets that do not have email accounts registered on SMS but do have mobile/landline telephone numbers listed can still access Cadet Portal by visiting https://cadets.bader.mod.uk/ and clicking ‘Can’t access your account’ and following the instructions - you will need to know your Cadet Identification Number (CIN) because your username is CIN@rafac.mod.uk and you will be asked to enter that on the first step. Your CIN is also your Ultilearn username if that helps!
Cadets, please report any major problems through your Squadron staff team or through the feedback function on Cadet Portal itself.
Staff, please report any significant issues you cannot fix locally either to your Bader Point of Contact or by raising a service desk ticket on SharePoint.
Good luck everyone!
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Can not wait.
I’m going to call this the era that cadets finally realised that being independent to organise things pays off
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#Excited 
It’s here! This is like an early Christmas, going to be doing some lessons on use tonight.
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Rub it in!
See Sign in to your account for news on how the Tranche 2 deployment went 
More to follow - off to a Wing launch event this evening and need to get changed.
Briefed my cadets on it this evening. Lots of interest and excitement amongst the older cadets though some of the newer ones seemed a bit bemused 
Some have already started signing up and bidding for activities. Looks like it’s going to be great.
The cadet intro video you did is really handy and as far as I can tell covers everything they need to know at the outset.
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I did a briefing with my lot tonight too, the NCO’s seemed a lot more excited by the idea than most of the Cadets.
Having played around with it, it does seem really good.
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Feedback from my cadets…they love it!!!
Although the pestering of Sir, I dont have this badge has kicked off!
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