Here is an interesting article ( see below) about how mobile technology can help First Responders. Technology is changing drastically almost every minute. It is truly amazing how far we have come from the first days of the internet to now, where most of us can’t go a day without the use of technology. Technology can be great when we understand how to use it to our benefit. Often, especially within the competitive commercial world, the product that is first to market is the technology that everyone is talking about. Perhaps the first to market is the best product, but most of the time, the first kit/software/app is often the just the pioneer. Competition pushes innovation. Innovation leads to better products.
If a technology is truly destined to succeed, one must look at the overall picture and ask the tough questions. Looking at First Responders, for instance, we must ask the right questions first about integrating technology.
- Is there an adequate exploitation of modern learning methodologies and technologies within the field?
- Is there an ability of current training and real-time infrastructure to support the use of modern learning methodologies and technologies?
- Is there a need for improvement?
- Can technology fill that gap?
- Can it fill a gap without adding negative transfer of training?
There are of course benefits to technology. We have already seen many. However, in order for the technology to be adopted, the following potential benefits of the technology must be explored:
- Improved attention?
- Greater accuracy?
- Faster navigation?
- Enthusiasm among users?
- Reduction in distractions?
- Context-sensitive and immediate sharing of specific information?
- Enhanced knowledge transfer?
- More efficient training?
Click below to read the article discussing:
2017 provided several unfortunate examples of how mobile technology would have been instrumental in saving lives.
https://americansecuritytoday.com/time-make-mobile-tech-work-first-responders-multi-video/
of particular interest is an app called ATAK.
(The Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) is a GPS communications tool that runs on a mobile device. It improves situational awareness by allowing users to know where their mission partners are located, regardless of affiliation. It also improves communications through a variety of applications. Thanks to the efforts of the S&T Apex Border Situational Awareness (BSA) team, ATAK was used during Hurricane operations in Houston and Puerto Rico. Courtesy DHS S&T and YouTube. Posted on Nov 17, 2017)