Please share your FEMA knowledge

[nerako]

I am looking to take 7 FEMA credits toward my TESC free electives. If anyone knows where I can find a list of the ones TESC accepts that would be helpful as Ive searched their website and cant find anything mentioning FEMA.

Also, I downloaded one course from the FEMA website, one that someone here mentioned, and it appears to be 186 PAGES of in depth reading. I am hearing from many that these courses are EASY and some are doing one course in an hour. How is that possible? Is there something Im missing? How are you reading 186 pages, actually remembering all of that and doing well on the test?



Any insight is appreciated.


Thanks!

[dblhelx]

On this website there are multiple threads that contain the list of TESC accepted FEMA courses. Just take the time to do the search, or I'm sure someone will eventually chime in with a link.

Many of the FEMA courses are associated with extensive PDF files. I've learned to just do keyword searches using the CONTROL F function within the PDF document. The keywords USUALLY are in the questions themselves and when used to search the PDF document bring you to somewhere very close to the answer. The first one can be daunting, but you will very quickly see the pattern...for sure! Personally, I never read the entire document, rather browsed them in search of key sections and read the sections until I found the answer.

I printed out the questions and then wrote what I thought was the letter of the correct answer next to the question number. Then I took the test online using my answer key. I would clearly denote which answers I knew were 100% correct. If I failed, I would research the ones I wasn't sure about and re-take the test. Take a couple and you should see the pattern. More often than not the questions themselves contain multiple words that can be used to search the PDF doc using CONTROL F and will take you right to the section that contains the precise answer.

[rebel100]

I would double check that all of the FEMA Professional Development Series are acceptable (I'm pretty sure they are). By doing these 7 you can fulfill your TESC credits and earn the PDS cert from FEMA, its a cool cert to have and some actually use it to pad their resume. I work as an Emergency Manager and occasionally see the PDS Cert listed as a requirement for some jobs. Emergency Mangagement Institute | Professional Development Series (PDS)

[nerako]

dblhelx,

Im green when it comes to searching on a PDF. I downloaded the PDF and tried doing what you said but It didnt seem to work well. I did it by holding down CTRL and holding down the letter F, which highlighted the search box. I typed in my word and hit enter. This brought me to the word but only the specific page that was up a the time. I couldnt figure out how to make it search for the word throughout the entire document??


thnx

[dcan]

Here you will find the list of courses accepted and overview of the FEMA idea: http://degreeforum.wikia.com/wiki/FEMA

The list is linked at the bottom under Resources.

[burbuja0512]

No you cannot get a college credit honestly by spending 15 minutes on the test. YES you do have to devote some time to it, but it's not that bad! FEMA's are free, interesting, and not all that difficult, but do require hours, not minutes. I really can't imagine taking a FEMA in an hour or less unless I did a lot of guessing on the test or had some prior knowledge of the topic. Yes I did like to get undergrad credits quickly, but make sure you do enough work to learn, not just pass.

That being said, keep in mind that many of the questions aren't difficult and tend towards a common-sense approach. I still have a lot more FEMA's to do eventually, but when I did the PDS cert, I felt that some of the questions could have been answered easily without reading the text. For the most part on the tests I've taken, it doesn't feel like FEMA is trying to stump me with tricky answers; more like they want to make sure that I would make a decent choice in an emergency situation. (luckily I have taken these for fun, because I don't trust my response in an emergency!)

Regarding how to manage lots of text, right now in grad school, we're assigned quite a bit of reading;typically more than 50 pages a day. There is a process I have to read a lot while retaining the information. I have learned to speed read - I skim the info, and highlight what I think will be important. I write a couple of comments that summarize the page in the margin.

No, this isn't the best way to read, but unless I want to spend hours a day, it's the only way I can get through my MBA. Use the same concept on the FEMA's. Also keep in mind that many of them are worth one college credit. If it takes you 3-4 days to get through the reading and another day to do the test, you're still going faster than you would in school, AND it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

[nerako]

Woo hoo! I just took 2 Fema's in the PDS series. It took me 3 hours for the first one bc I lost all my answers in a computer glitch, took me 1 1/2 for the 2nd one. Love, love these! Thanks everyone for your input!

What do I do now? Im a TESC student, how do I get them there? Also, does anyone know how long I have to 'claim' these? Like could I wait a year?


thanks!

[dcan]

I believe FEMAs are good pretty much for life. They can send a transcript to TESC.

[Lindagerr]

When you have taken all the FEMA's you need for your degree request a transcript be sent to TESC it only takes about a week for them to get it.

I also make sure I print out all the certificates and keep a PDF file of them it just gives me a little feeling of safety.

Also when I get my new home I plan on plastering all my certs on my walls.

[nerako]

Linda, you are a wealth of information, thank you!