Keesler Online: Training courses now on Air Force's education domain Published Aug. 19, 2008 By Lt. Col. Kevin O' Rourke 81st Training Support Squadron commander KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. -- In one keyboard stroke, Col. Greg Touhill, 81st Training Wing commander, ceremonially loaded the new Web site "Keesler Online," which is a new online library of technical training classes taught at Keesler. Keesler Online reached initial operational capability on the Air Force Education domain on July 29, with full operational capability planned to follow later this year. "Our timeline for IOC was aggressive, and our implementation team really rose to the challenge," Colonel Touhill said. "I'm proud of their efforts and accomplishments to make this happen." Initial capability of the open courseware Web site includes more than 2,300 documents in 124 courses, covering 30 subspecialties from all seven training squadrons. Full operational capability will include learning forums, feedback, mailing lists and additional courses on a common access card-enabled site. "We're thrilled to be the first training wing to join the Air Force Academy and Air Force Institute of Technology on Air Education and Training Command's new 'af.edu' Web domain," said Colonel Touhill. "This is another sign that Keesler is not only back, but better than ever." The Air Force education domain is often referred to as "where the Air Force goes to learn" and boasts 24/7 access. Team Keesler professionals train nearly 30,000 joint warriors--Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and government civilians--annually in nearly 400 separate technical training courses. Every one of them will be able to find the latest version of their course here, whether the subject is electronic principles, precision measurement, meteorology, air traffic control, airfield operations, finance, personnel, communications and information or instructor development. Visitors to the Web site will find the same materials students see in the classroom, such as slide shows, handouts and videos. "We're at 16 gigabytes of material and still increasing" said Maj. Jeff Queen, 81st Training Support Squadron director of operations. "Getting to this point took a tremendous team effort from training experts in all seven squadrons in the training group. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm over the learning capabilities Keesler Online provides," said Major Queen. "It's an exciting opportunity for Airmen anywhere in the world, whether it's preparing for upcoming training, reviewing material from a course or expanding knowledge for personal enrichment. Continual learning is an important aspect of professional development," said Col. Prince Gilliard, 81st Training Group commander. By placing courseware online, Keesler takes a big step forward in supporting the AETC "On Learning" initiative to provide knowledge management and continuous and precision learning, said Major Queen. The 81st TRW now joins elite institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which have also embraced open courseware as a key element in the future of learning. "Ultimately, open courseware is an important element of adapting technology to individual learning styles, promises to reduce costs and better serves Keesler's mission to train leaders in the multiple domains of air, space and cyberspace," said Colonel Touhill. Keesler Online can be accessed either through a link from https://www.af.edu, Keesler's Air Force portal site, or directly at http://www.keesler.af.edu. Visitors to Keesler Online must use a .mil or .gov system. The Air Education and Trainaing Command "On Learning" white paper can be viewed at https://www.aetc.af.mil/library/whitepaper.asp.