We just recently uploaded the third of four major changes to our site for the month of August--and it's a complete revamp of how the Lab structures our training curriculum. We're calling it our Roadmap. Read on to learn more...



This month, we've been focusing hard on making the last few big upgrades to our FAST site. We've had a clear destination in mind for the last two years, and have been working steadily toward it since transitioning to FAST full-time. And with this week's big change, I'm happy to say that finish line is now closer than ever.

In particular, we just uploaded a major redesign of how members access our online training by creating a recommended Lab Roadmap.

In the past we've basically offered a smorgasbord of courses, memos, and study guides, and simply encouraged members to look around and take whatever interests them. We also offer a revolving circle of featured training events, and many people just hop on to whatever is currently being promoted.

But neither of these are the ideal way to do training. Seeing a huge array of options can easily lead to overwhelm: Where do I start? And featured classes, while they narrow things down to a single option or two, can bring new students into an advanced class without important preparatory classes. Not ideal.

After extensively researching the question of how to make our online school as effective as possible at equipping workers, we've decided to change our smorgasbord into a crystal clear success path. We're calling it the Roadmap.

Basically, we've organized all our training into a series of nearly 20 modules organized into three main levels. These levels correspond to our core strategy of helping believers memorize Scripture effectively, apply it to their life practically, and then pass it on to others consistently.

We've carefully thought through the best order to complete these modules, carefully identified the most essential prerequisites and desired objectives of each module, thrown in specific missions for each module, and gathered the best supplemental resources from all over our site. And put it all together for you in a step by step guide.

To check it out, simply go to the Student Lab area and look for the Roadmap link. There you can see a full list of our modules. And if you are a Lab member, or part of a training team, you can click any of those modules to see a full list of the training objectives, missions, and supplemental resources included with that module.

We've also embellished it a bit by granting special "ranks" to members as they progress through the Roadmap. And special stars to acknowledge progress through individual modules. There will also be other awards, trophies, and certificates, including a final certificate of completion once you have finished your last module!

It's our hope this new approach will greatly enrich your experience at FAST, by walking you through every facet of our training, in just the right order!

How This Affects You

If you are not a member of the Lab, or part of a training team, things won't change much for you. You'll still see the same menu. You will still receive periodic announcements about featured classes and training events. And you can still join in anything that interests you.

But if you are a Lab member, your experience at FAST is about to get better. Instead of using our resource bar to find classes and study guides, your first step will be to go to the Student Lab each time you login and open your current module. There will be a button right at the top of the Lab welcome page.

The first time you log in, you will be asked to start at the beginning, to make sure you haven't missed any steps in our recommended training process. Just check off the objectives you have completed, and knock out the modules you have finished. If you have been a FAST member for a few years, this may take a bit, as you have probably taken several classes with us. But press through. Once you get to your first unfinished module, you'll know exactly what step to take next!

You are welcome to review the complete Roadmap by clicking the Our Roadmap link in the Lab menu area, and while you are there, take a peek at our two certification options. These documents will give you a clearer idea of how our Roadmap works, and where it will take you.

It has been a tremendous amount of work to organize this Roadmap, but we believe it will make it easier for every new member at FAST to get started on their training journey, and then encourage you to be steady and consistent in moving forward.

More Changes

In many ways, the site will look very much like it did before. But the reality is, this is the biggest upgrade we’ve done in a long time, and you will soon find small changes all over the site with lots of big potential. It wasn't really just the addition of a roadmap--it was a complete overhaul of our entire training environment. Here's a list of just a few things you should note:

• Comments will begin to show member ranks and stars as they progress through the roadmap.
• You can now "like" comments with a thumbs up and give someone an extra heart.
• Now it's ok to put Bible references in Lab forum posts! :)
• Notice the new training link in the blue resource bar. It gives access to all your current classes as well as links to our online classes, study guides, and ebooks.
• There are now progress bars on all your current classes showing you how much of the class you have completed.
• I've opened up pretty much all of our closed classes. “Revive” has been renamed "Dry Bones".
• Our short classes now use our own internal messaging system, enabling us to send helpful prompts and reminders if you get behind.
• I've converted all our study guides into live classes you can sign up for at any time. Wow!
• These new study guide classes operate differently with new lessons unlocking only when you complete the preceding lesson. There are also prompts and reminders for these if you get behind.
• Our short classes and study guide classes now both show you exactly how long it's been since you've posted a comment, marked a reading as done, or completed a quiz. There's even a reset button to get more time!
• I've converted some of our resources into something of an ebook format. These are designed to make them easier to access.
• We've retained special shortcuts to our witnessing courses, to keep them accessible for easy printing as before.
• The Lab area now has sharing helps for all our short classes. Expect to see resources for our study guides courses soon!
• I've moved all our Leaders Resources into the Student Lab and made it easier to navigate.
• And this is HUGE: team leaders now have full access to printouts for all our short classes for use in their teams--just like our guides!

There are probably lots of other changes that went into this update--but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. And while I fixed many bugs, I'm pretty sure I've added a few more in the process! So please be patient as it may take a few days to iron out all the new wrinkles!

But all in all it is a really important upgrade! Couldn't be more excited...

Comments

What do you think of our new Roadmap? How important is it to have a guide like this so you always know what to do next? Eager to get started? Are any of the other changes especially exciting to you? Which? Share your thoughts below...

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